Chomps the Dinosaur!

This week we had a traveling visitor...it's Chomps the class pet! Yay. We did lots with Chomps. He went with us to see Grandma in California and had a great time. He got to go to the snow with us and throw snow balls. We loved having Chomps and hope he had fun too.

James and Chomps in his room

Chomps loves Christmas!

Have a Cool Yule!

My super creative photography genious (Rebekha Pailliotet) did our Christmas pictures recently. I've been uber eager to learn more about Photoshop and she offered to give me some tips and pointers. Here's what I ended up creating! This is my favorite family picture yet! Thanks Rebekha. You're the best.

Arrghhh Mateys!

Okay, first of all what am I thinking sitting here blogging? I have a whole house to make immaculate in less than 48 hours and I am worried about not having updated my blog? Crazy...I know. BUT, I couldn't resist sharing these adorable shots with you...

The "Jolly Roger" Birthday Cake

The scurvy birthday pirates with my hunka hunka burnin love!

My miny matey! How cute is he?!

The swashbucklin birthday boy serinading us with his new guitar

Tagged:

Heather tagged me with this...cute.

i am: a good mom
i know: how to sew finally (not well, but that's okay)
i want: my new car to hurry up and get here
i have: gorgeous babies
i hate: people that complain but don't do anything about what they are complaining about
i miss: my family in CA
i feel: like I don't have enough time to get what I need to done
i hear: my beloved husband watching the Cards game
i smell: my favorite Glowing Embers candle
i crave: Dr Pepper
i search: every day for something new to craft
i love: belonging to my moms group
i care: too much about too many things
i always: worry about what others think about me
i believe: that if you try hard you will succeed
i write: very little other than blog posts and meetup stuff
i lose: minutes every day with my kids that I will miss someday.
i win: my kids over with treats
i never: go to bed without kissing my boys
i listen: to the new Kenny Chesney cd over and over
i am scared: that I am not good enough
i need: my kids
i am happy about: working on being more philanthropic

I tag Tiffany and Meg.

The Duffs Annual Spooktakular...

Check out these great shots of all our spooky friends!

Chad and Lilly


Jamie and Hayden (or should I say the Lion and Tinman)

Baby Jaguar (Raarrr Bradyn!)

Tink and Dylan

The two buzzy BEES!

Tara and Emma Jo

Schnepff Farms

We went to the pumpkin patch this weekend and let the boys roam. Here are some shots of the family.

Things I love...

I know. Meg reminded me this week that I needed to update. I've been dreading uploading my pictures from recent trips and random things and so I've slacked on the blog. I thought I'd post a little something fun just to passify you all and give you a little insight into my brain (I know it sounds scary, but bear with me). More to come VERY shortly...

{things I heart}

the smell of Grant in the morning

sleeping in

spooning with my husband

the color GREEN

Arizona summers

James with blue hair

James with any color hair

a can of Dr Pepper just out of the slushy ice chest

new car smell

Dave Matthews-ants marching

Jaidens unprompted hugs

freshly painted toe nails

singing really loud in the car with the kids

Our trip to Orlando!

So Terry hosted a few workshops in FL this last week and so we decided to take the kids on a Minnie vacation (pun intended). The kids had a BLAST! It was great. My favorite part was that Disney decorated for Halloween. Growing up in California, it was interesting to see the differences between Disneyland and the main park at Disney World. I will say that while it was totally worth it, traveling with three kids is NOT for the faint hearted.

Here are the kids on a ride with dad/Terry. He was smiling, but really hates rides.

The kids and Big Bertha...one of the clydsedales at Sea World

The kids with the sea turtles

Those cool decorations I was talking about

I took a day off from work today...

and went horseback riding with Tiffany! It was my first time on a horse and I had a blast. We went with another friend up to Sajuaro Lake. There's a company that does trail rides up there. It was gorgeous. Tiffany's mad at me because I'm not sore. Our friend Heather watched the boys for us so that we could take the day off and boy are we grateful.

Our Milestone Weekend!

So...Grant is officially walking! Yay!! He's walking across rooms now. It started with a couple of steps. But now he's a traveling man. It was so cool to watch. I will post pictures as soon as I can catch him walking. He falls everytime I get the camera out! LOL

AND- James started riding his two wheeler with NO training wheels. He's doing such a great job!

Crazy Week...

What a whirlwind week it's been. We've been dealing with the whole car wreck/insurance thing all week. I wouldn't even bring it up, but I'm not sure James will EVER let me live it down. He's told every person we've come in to contact since then. We went to the market and I kid you not he said the following to the clerk: "Hi, my name is James. My mom got us in an accident and wrecked her Nalli. We are okay, but she totalled the car." OMG!!! Can you say embarassed? I think I shrunk down to the size of a pea.

Anyhow, we are all okay and poor Bessie is probably in yukon heaven wishing evil things upon me. But I'll miss her. She was absolutely my favorite car in the history of my driving career. She wasn't just a mom wagon. She was family. RIP Bessie.

Okay, enough sad stuff. Let's talk about HALLOWEEN!! Yay for October. I may have jumped the gun a little, but only by a couple of days. A couple of my friends (Meg and Tara) already have their fall decorations up so I really actually feel behind the eight ball. I put mine up Friday and I am so excited. I made new ones this year. Here are some pictures of my crazy metallic pumpkins.

Spooky enough? I love the ravens! I changed out their eyes for rhinestones. I painted roses black and frosted them with black glitter. Then, I added loose featheres to the pumpkins...SO cool. I love the way these turned out! I also made a wreath for the front door. As if my house isn't scary enough?

And finally, my sister Robin and her husband came into town for the weekend. We had a blast. We went through baby things and cooked. We tend to do that. When we spend time together, we enjoy spending time in the kitchen. Anyhow, we had some really great conversation. Last night we played CLR and Farkel. It was a blast. Thanks for coming out guys!!

VIP Alert!!

So, I TOTALLY forgot to post about James the Great last week. James was VIP at school last week. He got to take some of his favorite things to school and talk about them. He decided to take Zeke the Zebra and his favorite cars.

Jamsey and Ms. Tara

James was SO excited that he was the VIP. He even got to pick out snacks for his class on Thursday. I thought this would be so awesome. But James was terrified that he'd pick the wrong snack and his friends wouldn't like them. That's my boy...always thoughtful. Anyhow, he picked crackers and cheese (the kind you spread with the little red stick) and they were a hit. Good Job Jamsey!! Here are some shots of my hot shot at school with is new "flames" mohawk. Not the side shot where he got his "Great Job" stamp for good behavior (still in shock).

Rock and Roll James!! You're the best and I love you all the way to the universe. XOXX, Mom

My Little Green Thumb...

So, the other day I took the kids to this ice cream shop around the corner that sells Thrifty ice cream. (side-note: YUM!!) Okay, so James saved his gumballs and planted them in the back yard with hopes that they would flourish and grow into MASSIVE gumball producing trees!! I can't make this stuff up!

SO cute. Anyhow...I had to journal this before it got lost in my brain somewhere between childhood memories and that damn chocolate malted crunch ice cream.

Also, James started Hip Hop class. He's been twice now and is lovin' every minute of it. His favorite time is freestyle. He totally let loose and busted his moves the first week. Then "Fro" (his dance teacher) busted out some moves and now James says that he's not good enough to dance with him. Mmmm. That totally pulled at my heart strings. My little bubba is growing up WAY too fast.

This is Fro.

Oh my gosh...I totally wanted to share this little thing about Grant. He's been waving and blowing kisses. He's been giving High-5s and playing peek-a-boo. GUESS WHAT HAND HE'S USING????? That's right...he's gonna be a leftie just like his Mama! My little South Paw. He's making me so proud. {Big Smile}

And last but not least, Princess Jaiden. She's growing like a weed and doing AMAZING work at school. Jaiden started first grade this year and has already tested at the end of her grade level for reading. Jen has done such a great job with her acedemically. Jaiden was also invited into the Gifted Program at school and will test for it next week. It's so awesome to see her grow. She's got the brains in the family for sure...but who knew she'd get the good looks too!! Daddy's gonna have to buy a shot gun to keep the boys away!! Muahh Gorgeous!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Blastoff!!

Grant's 1st Birthday was September 4th and we had an amazing group of friends over to celebrate. The party was themed with Rocket Ships. I have to say that I was not in any way responsible of how cute this all turned out. Because of all that our family was going through, I leaned on Heather for her creativity. Here are some pictures of the party and the amazing j-o-b she did right down to the cake!

















Okay, so Rebekha suggested bringing over her backdrop to do the "cake smash" and boy did she capture Grant at his best!! Check out these uhhhh-mazing shots of my little Space Commander!

{Thanks Rebekha!! You're the best}

Photography by Rebekha Pailliotet

Photography by Rebekha Pailliotet

Photography by Rebekha Pailliotet

Excuse Me Mr. { & other fun songs! }

So, I just read this on Heather's Blog and I thought it would be SUPER fun...

Here's how to "play" along!

1. Put your i pod on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down & the artist, no matter how silly it sounds.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"If a Man Answers" Toby Keith
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
"The Scientist" Coldplay
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"The Grouch" Green Day (ouch!)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Blew Job" Blink 182 {Uh...good thing this is a FAMILY Blog!!}
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"What Happened to You" Offspring (Okay, totally offended!)
WHAT DO YOU OFTEN THINK ABOUT?
"Don't Wanna Behave" Dance Hall Crashers
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LOVE?
"Godspeed" Dixie Chicks
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Pictures of Me" Elliot Smith
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Fast as You" Dwight Yokam
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LOVE?
"Why Go" Pearl Jam
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Join the Club" Real Big Fish {I couldn't make this stuff up!! Ha Ha}
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
"Strong Enough" Sheryl Crow
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"No Way Out" Pennywise
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"True Love Will Find You in the End" Daniel Johnston
WHAT DID YOU SEE OUT YOUR WINDOW TODAY?
"Ice Cream" Sarah McLachlan
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
"Shakespears Sister" The Smiths
WHAT DO YOU DREAM ABOUT?
"Daysleeper" REM
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS?
"Dreams for Plans" Shakira
WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE?
"Scattered" Green Day
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE WAY YOU LOOK?
"Dead and Bloated" Stone Temple Pilots {Okay, my I Pod is WAY more harsh than Heather's!!}
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BLOG?
"Ants Marching" Dave Mathews Band (Randomly, my very favorite song...ever!!)
WHAT GOAL ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
"Jackson" Johnny Cash
WHAT WILL THE TITLE OF THIS POST BE?
"Excuse Me Mr." No Doubt

Greatness

This week has been rough. Terry's father passed away on September 2nd. His funeral was on Friday, September 5th.

When Terry and I discussed his dad this week, he used a word that has really made me think. Simple. "Dad was simple," he said. What an amazing way to be remembered.

He was also simple in his faith in God. He believed. He never forced his beliefs on other people. He never got into huge philosophical debates about the meaning of life.

John Edward Duff, to me was simply amazing. I loved him very much. He made me smile and laugh. I have nothing but great memories of great hugs and boisterous laughter.

Grant's middle name came from Papa John. We wanted him to share a piece of his Papa. Thank goodness we did.

We love you Papa John.

AZ Republic

Hospice of the Valley

CHOP, CHOP

Grant has been patiently waiting for his first hair cut. The poor kid is going to have a complex when he looks at his old photos some day because his mom let him look like Bozo the clown for the first year of his life. We made it a family affair. It was a great time had by all. Now he looks like a hottie just like his daddy-O!

Grant Edward Duff ala haircut.