Award Winners

Okay, I know this is strange since I did title this posting "Award Winners". (I have a good reason for putting this silly picture with the write-up.) We spent the last two days going to Award presentations at the high school and elementary school and really . . . this is what we got! Absolutely none of the pictures we took at each school were really good. On our way to Tombstone last night, Mac took this picture of himself with a new gadget he has. This is some mirrored picture, so I thought I'd include it. It's nice to know that we have Award Winners even though the pics didn't really turn out. We are very proud of these two, that's for sure!! Make sure you take time to hug your award winner today! ENJOY!!

Tombstone Locals :o)

So, this is what the locals in Tombstone look like! Here is a picture of two of them after they've just gotten off their horses back in August 2007. Not really! . . . well the grandparents did come in August 2007, but they didn't ride the horses! - just thought I'd include a picture of part of the big blog fan base!! :o) Here the grandparents are enjoying a day in Tombstone. One of the best parts of Tombstone is the wooden plank path that you get to walk on while you browse in the cute, little western shops. The main street is blocked off so you'll see horses, stagecoaches, and lots and lots of gun fights. If you're ever in this part of Arizona, Tombstone is a must see place!! Remember it's the town too tough to die! (Plus, the cutest daughter in the world goes to high school there!) ENJOY!!

Occotillos

Today when I was dropping the cute daughter off at her far away bus stop, I saw this beautiful occotillo . I thought I would snap a quick picture of it so you could see how they grow naturally. I do realize that this one was "planted" as a decoration near the road and parking lot, but this is what they do look like naturally. I will also share one thing that I've learned about them. They really grow well in limestone. So spelunkers look for them to find caves. Now I bet that is something you didn't know when you got up this morning. (You didn't realize that you would be learning so much from me, did you??!!) Anyway, they really are one of my favorite desert things! ENJOY!

Illegals

Oh my goodness!! Look at the illegals that were encounterd in this particular area!!! Scary, huh?! I certainly wouldn't smuggle them. In fact, I wouldn't even snuggle with them!! No, this was taken today when we all went on another motorcycle ride through the countryside! We went to see a "lake" here in Arizona. (At least that is what they called it here. Parker Canyon Lake.) I would really like to call it a pond, but that's not really important. It was a nice ride on a nice day with nice friends. We got to see the pond, I mean lake. We got to see lots of cows. (We even had to stop in the road while some were crossing over. Interesting!!) We saw an antelope and even some longhorn and horses. What a day! I am also quite sure we saw some illegals, but never can be quite certain. Of course, by the time we got back we had thought one of the neighbors houses was on fire because there was lots and lots of smoke . . . but no, they were having some sort of cookout! But as you can tell by the surrounding grasses in the picture . . . wildfires are very common here since it is very, very dry right now! Anyway . . . that's all for now, just enjoy the sign!!

Springtime

Okay, now here is a springtime view of life in the desert!! See the bumblebee on the bloom of the occotillo??? I took this picture yesterday while Katelyn was at piano. In fact I was even on the phone with my famous brother, who made me start this crazy adventure . . . our blog. This is one of my favorite desert plants. In this picture you can only see the top, but it's very tall and leggy. Some people even dry them and use them for fencing. A unique way to do a fence, for sure! I just thought it was neat to see the bumblebee in action! Maybe tomorrow I'll post the other desert pictures I took . . . you'll have to come back to see if I do it . . . ENJOY!!!

Chiricahua National Monument

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Friends

One thing I know for certain is that when you're nomads like us and you move around a lot, you miss your family. The only way, I think that our kind of people learn to handle the moving and lack of family, is all our friends. We have been very, very blessed at every place we've lived to have a good group of friends . . . you know, the lifelong kind of friends . . . the kind that can help take the place of family when family is too far. That's what today's posting is about . . . friends!! I've found a picture of an outing with some of our friends here in Arizona. (And, not to mention how very cool we all look!) You know, I know that a lot of cows helped make some of these things that we're all wearing . . . I mean, there was lots of sewing to be done . . . HA! No, this was just a fabulous morning motorcycle ride. (I know it's hard to see the motorcycles . . . I kind of remember that the guys wanted to only take pictures of the bikes, but decided it was okay that the group of us stand if front of them for one picture!) Now I will also mention that the guys were the ones riding in the back and holding on for dear life . . . at least that is how I remember it! It was also very cold that Arizona morning . . . the kind of cold where your knees hurt because the wind was hitting them - it's too bad we all didn't have those chaps, unfortunately the cows were too busy to get them made for all of us!!!! :o) Seriously, we are very thankful for all our friends . . . some of whom are even reading this . . . we cherish our friendships with you and thank you for making our lives a little merrier!!! ENJOY!!

More Arizona Wilderness

So, here is the funny thing . . . we really aren't much of outdoorsy people, but here we are again in a picture, where? Outdoors?! Funny, isn't it? We were actually on a daytrip to see the Chiricahua Mountains. A wonderful "land of rocks". It's a National Monument area in southeastern Arizona where rocks are just stacked upon each other in spirelike formations after a volcano erupted years ago. (I'll have pictures of that later.) Anyway, on our trip we passed by this little area on the highway known as Texas Canyon. There are lots of big bolders stacked . . . Why? I'm not really sure . . . there may have been something by the bathrooms where it told you all about the area, but we didn't read it! . . . Mac has always thought these rocks were very cool when we passed and wanted to climb on them, so we finally stopped. I think we made his dreams come true. He had so much fun climbing all over those rocks . . . the only one that wasn't too happy about the situation was Katelyn. She worried the enire time. (She worried enough for both her parents!!!) So . . . after a few pictures of our road side stop, we were on our way to the Chiricahuas . . . maybe you'll see them tomorrow . . . come back and see! :o)

Arizona Hiking

Okay, once again, here we are, the Cox Clan right before a very, very strenuous hike in the Arizona wilderness. When the new year began . . . 2009 . . . we went with two other families and hiked about 3-4 miles (read 50 miles) into Garden Canyon, here in Sierra Vista, Arizona. We were very exticted about seeing the wilderness and all that it had to offer. (?) But mainly we wanted to see the the rock art also known as the petroglyphs. We got to see a beautiful waterfall. We also got to see snow and even ice! We got to see two boys - Mac and his buddy - climb and run and scream and jump and fire a BB gun the entire time. (After all, this was a paradise to them!!!) It really was a fun day and didn't cost us a dime! . . . BUT, most of all, we lived to tell all about it! ENJOY!

Fort Huachuca Halloween 2008

Okay, I realize that you may be wondering why I am posting a picture of us at Halloween instead of some spring flowers or something else that might be more timely . . . remember it's my blog and I can post what I want! :o) No, I just couldn't think of what to put on today, and I remembered how much fun our costumes were this past halloween. We were legos! (Ok, I realize that is quite obivious from this picture . . . but . . . ) Basically, it was an easy costume to make - you just need moving boxes, bowls, and friends that will help you spray paint. We made red, black, and blue - K8 was the blue one. (Mac couldn't be bothered with being a lego - he wanted to be some kind of scary monster or something like that.) If I made this again, I wouldn't include the hats - we didn't wear them for very long because they weren't very comfortable - and as we get older, we like comfort!! So, there you have it . . . a halloween picture 6 months later. :o) Enjoy!!!!

Mother & Daughter

Well, here's a fairly recent picture of the two fabulous girls in the family . . . the only one missing is Antenna! :o) We're not doing anything special like hitting a ball with a bat or even riding a dirt bike, BUT we look good - oh we look so good! This was at the same bowling tournament from before . . . Kate indulged me and took a picture with me - isn't she cute, and sweet?! It's nice to have a sweet daughter . . . hard to believe that she's growing up!! We've got to find the magic pill to keep our kids young!! Well, that's all for now. Enjoy!!

Holidays 2008

Okay, so I decided to try this "smilebox" thing that my friend Chris has on her blog. (Thanks, Chris - plus she's our first fan!!) Anyway, it wasn't too hard, so I thought I'd do some of the decorations from Christmas in our house. The only problem is that I ran out of room on the layout I picked. But, for the most part, you can get an idea of how our home looked this past holiday season . . . unless you got to take the tour in person - then you already know!! Let me know what you think. Maybe if I do this again, I'll add music - that was an option I didn't choose. Oh well . . . It's all a learning experience, that's for sure! (Alrighty, I see a problem I had . . . the year should have been listed as 2008!! Oh well, maybe I didn't make a mistake and I am just ahead of myself!!! NOT!) If I can fix it I will, if not, oh well . . .) Enjoy!

Holiday Memories

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Easter Now and Then

So, today is Easter Sunday. I thought I would post an Easter picture from the "old pictures" and a new one from today. This way we have proof that the children are really growing up. I have proof that they are being fed - maybe not well . . . but at least they're growing, and that they are happy - they do have smiles on their faces! The picture on the bottom is from our church in Virginia - Parkwood Baptist Church - at the Easter Eggstavaganza. The kids had so much fun playing all kind of games and hunting eggs and decorating cookies! The one on the top is from today, Easter 2009. They did participate in an Easter Egg hunt - last night with flashlights! (Well, the boy did, the girl spent time watching America's Next Top Model.) Can you imagine lots of neighborhood kids searching for eggs hidden in the desert with wild animals looking on? I am not kidding when I say this. . . one family had their trash can dumped over after the hunt by several crazy javelina. (You know a wild hog type animal!) This morning we went to the sunrise service and then had a wonderful lunch with 3 other military families - I should say 3 other military families that have terrific cooking skills . . . we are very blessed!

Baseball Season

So, as pretty much everyone knows . . . it's baseball season. Much like others, here at our house we are always at the ball field. Mac is playing again this year, and for the first time, he's in the Major's division. Of course, that's cool because they're just like the real Major League Baseball players - only now Little League. So . . . If you haven't been to a real game or even a little league game, let me tell you - they're quite long! We normally are at the field a half hour before the game starts to warm up, then the game takes about 2 hours, then with the "coach talk" afterwards add another 15 minutes and it's 2:45 before we've even gotten in the car . . . that adds another 15 coming and going - so all in all it's 3 hours and 15 minutes to be a little league player. That's time we'll never get back . . . but mostly it's worth it! Mac has been playing since he was 5 at Fort Bragg and this is the 9th season he's played in. He is currently playing for the Cardinals, and they're an okay team. He either plays shortstop, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, or pitches. (I guess, I should have said infield!) :o) He is very, very fast - gets it from me . . . and I think does quite well. He's got a decent team and really should only improve with the season. He loves it and that's what counts . . . oh and by the way, we have 23 games to play - and we aren't counting practices!! So, what I thought I'd post is him batting during try-outs . . . this was in March 09. Oh, and for some of you "readers" out there, I believe he's wearing his Pirates untiform from last year . . . thought that would make you happy! ENJOY!

World's Cutest Couple

Now I've found the perfect picture of the "World's Cutest Couple"! I can say that because I'm the one writing this, and I believe everything that I write, so . . . . It's not very often that you will see the two of us in a picture together because normally, like most parents, we're the ones taking the pictures. So it was nice that Mac offered to take the picture of us. We were at a bowling tournament in February of this year. (That's why there is a lovely purple or pink wall behind us - you can always count on bowling alleys to provide the very best interiors!!) Well, at least we had fun and got to see another part of Arizona. The tournament was in Safford, AZ and was a 2 day tournament. I know that Katelyn and Mac had fun bowling and swimming at the hotel pool. (That probably was the highlight.) The highlight for John was going to a fabulous motorcycle shop, and for me . . . there was a really nice antique store and a super, fantastic, clean, and very, very large Super-Walmart! That area of Arizona has hot spings and lots of mineral spas. We didn't make it to any of them, but they're there - or so they say! :o) Alrighty, I digress . . . focus, focus, you can do it . . . just wanted to add a picture of the "World's Cutest Couple"!

A Funny Plumber

Now here is a funny one . . . . I really have no reason for adding this to our new blog, except the fact that our family thought this was hilarious!! What a great sense of humor this person had in his advertisement. I don't know if I'd have the nerve to do something like that, but I certainly think it would be fun to drive around in and see the look of astonishment on the face of people that see it. Can you imagine?! Maybe that is what this should all be about . . . we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. That could be the lesson for today. :o) That's about all I have for now, I just thought I'd share some of our humor with you!!

Oldest Digital Picture

So, today I decided to find the oldest picture in our picture file. This is what I came up with! December 01. This is from when we lived in west Texas - as far west in Texas as you can go . . . Fort Bliss/El Paso. We were lucky to get to live there for a year - we really liked it. (You know you like a place if you'd go back . . . and we would go back!) It was always warmer than where we had lived in central Texas so the kids had even more outside time! Although one thing I remember is that with outside time came lots and lots of stickers!! I also remember coming home one night and seeing a skunk digging in the front yard! We all waited in the van until he sniffed around and then went on his way . . . it really was our first time with creatures outside. We saw tons and tons of jack rabbits there also. Katelyn and Mac both went to St. Mark's Methodist School - Katelyn in 2nd and Mac in preschool. Both sets of grandparents were able to visit there, and even Uncle Chris. It's always nice to have family come and visit us in all the places we live. Now we've moved to 4 different communities since this time, so who knows what picture you might see next. Just wanted to give a little "blast from the past" moment.

Dirt Bike Riders

The two boys of the family love to ride their dirt bikes. One January day I flilmed them coming in from one of their adventures. I'm sure they had seen a lot - a lot of rocks, deer, and maybe even an illegal! :o) Anyway, here's a shot of John first and then Mac riding along. They certainly have enjoyed the dirt bikes!! But, what boy wouldn't!

Old Recital Video

Okay, I thought maybe this might be a good way to let y'all see some of the little videos that we've taken. Now realize that some of these will be older because I haven't know what to do with them and how to send them to you. When looking for a really old piano one of our darling daughter, I found this one. This is from last year at her piano recital where she plays a duet with her piano teacher. Hopefully, you'll get to see it! Now I need to find a way to only let people see it that I "approve" of. Let me know what you think!!

WHAT??? A Blog for us????

Okay, I really have no idea how to do this - or what I'm doing, but my brother wanted me to try . . . so??? I guess I have to move into the 21st century, so hope this works!!!! YIKES!!!

Here's a picture of our wonderful home here in Arizona. We are thrilled to be living in the desert with the sunshine!!!