Arizona Pizza Kitchen

Really good friends are hard to find--especially when you have just moved.  Tonight we got together with the Farnsworth family who we have known for years and had a really fun evening making pizza's and just hanging out.

 






We started out with some incredible pizza dough that we rolled out and then we added on any toppings that we wanted.  Eve couldn't get past the rolling of the dough, she rolled and rolled and actually ended up with the most perfect circle pizza of any of us. 

Check out how we cooked the pizza's.  The Farnsworths have their own pizza oven in their backyard.  What a way to cook pizzas!  Tom is a master pizza chef--he cooked all the pizza's to perfection.

The kids had a great time.

 

 

Thanks to the Farnsworth's for a great evening. 

The Sound of Music

It is hard to explain what it is like to hear the music that is always playing in our house.  About two to three times a week I come home to hear the words, "Do you want to hear the song I wrote?"  When I sit down and hear the latest song that was written, I am amazed at their talent and wonder how they have the incredible ability to write such music. I feel like I am the first to hear a great song before anyone else gets too and I'm lucky to hear my girls songs before the rest of the world does. 

It is rare that I am home that I don't hear the piano or the guitar playing and  it makes for an incredible feeling in the home to have music being created the way it constantly is in the house.  I feel lucky to have the girls music in the house and I am trying to enjoy it while I have them still living here.  The girls are finishing up their demo records so I will let everyone know when they hit itunes.  If you want to see how their music has progressed over the last 6 years go to youtube.com and put in their youtube page which is cand0103  you will be able to see some of the first songs that they wrote nearly 6 years ago.  They have been honing their craft for nearly six years. 

Is it November?

We woke up this mornig to incredible weather here in Arizona!  So we decided to make the most of the day and plan some really fun activities.  After we cleaned the house Miss. G and myself headed to the pool with the kids.  With the weather in the high 80's you would have thought it was summertime.   So we acted like it was!

 

 

 

After swimming we headed to the movie "Wreck it Ralph".  It looks like we were not the only ones who went to see the movie, our neighbor Braxton happened to be buying tickets at the same time.

Then we headed to dinner.  Who can cook dinner after a fun day like this--I wasn't expecting Miss. G to do any cooking so we headed to get some food and guess who happened to be at the restaurant? Some of my Sunday School kids, complete with hats!

Minor Surgery

Miss G had some volunteer work this morning with a local company that gives food to children after school who won't get any food at home so I got Eve to myself this morning.  After all the fun of Halloween, Eve soon realized that she had some mosquito bites.  Well the world came to a stop until we could find something to stop the itch.  I looked and looked and couldn't find anything until I came upon some "lady Lotion" which says "anti-itch" so I used that.  It seemed to work fine and I prided myself on my resourcefulness. 

I figured the more I covered up the mosquito bites the better it would be as she wouldn't be reminded so I found the largest bandage and covered half of her leg.  She loved it and once again I'm a hero!

Since I didn't have any calls during lunch, Eve and I ran over lunch to Olivia at school.  Nothing say's I love you like "Taco Bell". 

Next Goal: Be Dr. Huxtable (ie: GREAT DAD)

Remember Bill Crosby as Dr. Huxtable?  He was the best fake dad on TV ever.  He could handle any situation with humor, love and great advice.  I don't remember ever hearing him scream at his kids about their dirty rooms.  Yea, well I am pretty much not anywhere near that.  So I decided this week that I am going to start working on being a better dad.  I have such incredible girls that I need to be a dad who helps them reach their goals and be confident on their journey.  I figure the best way to do this is through small things that won't overwhelm me.  So here is my new thing; every school night that I am in town I write on their bedroom or bathroom mirror a little piece of advice or cool thought so when they wake up in the morning it gives them an extra "Dad cares about me boost."  Here was Day 1 of Elle.  I won't put on Chloe and Olivia's as it is a bit cheesy and personal:

As a big suprise to me later that day I started getting notes back on my mirror....Here is what Elle wrote back....a bit of advice for me. 

So I knew I had gone to far when I started getting requests for to do list items written on my mirror from my two teenagers.  They ruined such a great thing, I think I will go scream at them.  (But I am still going to keep up with the mirror writing!)

Hallows Eve 2012

Happy Halloween!  It was our first Halloween in Arizona and it was a good one.  Can anyone say 85 degrees and sunny? 

Grampa and Grandma came over for some good eats and to check out everyone's costumes.

It was so quiet until it got dark that we wondered if anyone was going to come trick or treating.  After it got dark the doorbell finally started to ring. Everyone had a great evening. Of course with Olivia's insistence the house was decked out with Halloweed gear. This picture only gives you a small taste of what was done. Try to notice all the webbing and spiders around the front of the house.

Chloe and Olivia both had parties so they suprised us and dressed up.  Everyone had costumes this year.  Even Miss G and I.  (Gale will here after be referred to as "Miss G" because it sounds like a Bond girl to me and Gale is more beautiful, smart, and a better mother than any Bond girl would ever be.  Of course I wonder if Bond girls ever really want to be a mother??)

I am sad that Halloween is over.  I love this Holiday and we have plenty of candy and treats so if you need some be sure and stop by!

What the Blog?

I have decided to pick up my blog again. Why? For numerous reasons. First, I have been travelling and working so much the last 6 months that I feel like a bad dad and I need to change some things. Second, my incredibly wonderful wife who I will call "Miss G" (because that sounds like a Bond girl and she way out ranks any Bond girl with her beauty, brains and mothering skills) does everything and I figure I can help out with documenting the family life (with my own skewed view).
I also know that if I am thinking about a post every couple of days I will be thinking of how I can be a better dad to my 5 incredible daughters. They have so much to offer the world and I need to make sure I am doing my part to help them get there. So selfishly I am doing this for me. 

So much has happened since I last posted that I will not be able to put in back posts, I will just pick up from today.  So here we go again!