Time flies when you're having Fun, Fun, Fun!

While being at Kanga's, we have been busy busy bee's! I'm just going to do a brief review of everything that has gone on because I am not in the right mind to go back and write posts on every single day that I missed, so bear with me...thanks.

It has snowed in Tucson, which was super cool because, with the kids being born and raised here, they have never seen snow or been able to play in it. It was very special to see ChaCha with his eyes wide open, running through the huge flakes falling from the sky. When Jem & Emma came home they were super stoked, got all bundled up and ran out to the backyard to throw snowballs at each other and attempt snow angels! That was awesome.

We're all Snow Bunnies, now!

[caption id="attachment_3948" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Snow Angels[/caption]

It was a big day in the city of Tucson and a huge day in this household!

I was also able to give all the kids hair cuts, which was another fun day for all of us. It was fun to give the girls something different to do with their hair and ChaCha's curls came off but that's what his daddy wanted so, that's what was done.

[gallery columns="4" ids="3955,3954,3953,3952"]

I was also able to attend the girls' Girl Scout meeting. I was never a girl scout so it was something different for me and I got to meet some of their friends and was told by many girls that I was the "awesomest"....every gal, especially this gal, loves to hear that!

[caption id="attachment_3962" align="aligncenter" width="225"] My Hippie Girl Scout[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3963" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Awesome & Awesomer[/caption]

I'm sure there is a lot that I'm missing and I'll probably have to go back and think about other things we've done since being here....but that will only lead to more awesome posts! It's been so much fun being here and spending time with everyone. We are planning on leaving here in a few days and it will be sad, but the time we have been able to spend together has been priceless and amazing and I wouldn't take any of it back for anything in the world.

I hope that you are getting to spend some good quality time with the people in your life that you love. You just never know when life is going to change and be radically different. If you have the time and you have the means, go spend time with those people, it will probably mean the world to them as well as yourself.

Sending out much love today...❤❤❤❤

PEACE

Being "taken advantage of" and absolutely loving it!

So, it's been such a crazy amazing week...well I'm going to call it a week...even though it started last Thursday, Valentine's Day. I hope you all got some love and some good candy!! We have never really celebrated Valentine's Day, I think we have actually celebrated one time but to us it's just another day. This year, however, would be a little different...a good different! We have come to Tucson for one reason and one reason only...to see my sister, her hubs and her kids...my noodlebugs! My beautiful, quirky, hilarious, creative, awesome, amazing noodlebugs! We came to my sista's house on Thursday night for a Surprise Valentine's Dinner and oh how surprised my nieces were. At this point in their lives, my one niece Emma is 12 going on 32 (in the best way possible), my other niece Jem is 10 and my nephew ChaCha is 3 1/2. I got them all at different times of the day due to different school schedules...all in all it was a pretty fun afternoon of yelling, "Surprise!", giggling, hugging and laughing! And of course crying...can't be an afternoon without crying! haha But these were the best tears I've cried in a while. I haven't seen this part of my family in 3 years and we're really close so it is just awesome to see all of them. The last time I saw my nephew he was about 8 months old...now he's a walking, talking, pooping machine! haha (He just got potty trained and he's doing so good!) It's been a lot of fun just being here. I am able to help my sista' out in ways that most people wouldn't understand or wouldn't want to take on, but I am soooooo excited to help her out with all of it. I mean just being able to wash dishes for her, do a load of laundry and actually get it folded and put away, give my sis and her hubby a break from all 3 kiddos...and not just once (we've already "pushed" them out of the house twice so far and are going for a few more times before we leave). The little things really do count here.

Savannah is getting along really well with their dog, so that's been nice and not stressful. It's just been so nice to have time with my sista', the kids and her hubby (Big E'), along with J' and Big E' being able to do their thing together: movies and gaming!

[caption id="attachment_3935" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Assassin's Creed, Bro![/caption]

And the funniest of conversations of just about everything has been awesome. It's been nice to be able to squeeze Joon into the corner space of their yard/driveway so we are close and I can keep 'pushing' them out of the house and be able to wake up and be here for her so she doesn't have to have the lil one with her to do errands. I just keep telling her, "Take full advantage of me, that's why we're here!" And the best part is...I mean it and I'm diggin' it hard! I'll take my nieces and nephew any day of the week, especially if it means giving them some time together and giving me time with the kids as well.

It will be sad to leave but we're so close it'll just be miles between us, nothing else. Awwww..... I'm just so grateful for them and love them so much and am very happy for us being able to spend the time that we have...before you know it, the girls will be out of the house and onto new horizons and ChaCha will be in highschool and many "boxcars" of life will have gone by.

Take the time and appreciate the now. Time passes by so quickly and before you know it, everything and everyone will be different and in different spaces of life.

For now, I'm taking every potty break, every hug and good-night kiss and every moment that just might be normal to anyone else...I'm taking everything and anything I can. There's no time like the now.

[caption id="attachment_3938" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Treatment![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3940" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My Sailor Nails![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3939" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The Artist[/caption]

For now, I must go and listen to one of Jem's funny stories and tell ChaCha not to hit his sister! haha You can say I'm pretty much loving life right now!

PEACE

Sur-prise, Sur-prise, Sur-prise!

Today is not only Valentine's Day but also the day that I got to give the biggest surprise ever...surprising my lil noodlebugs (my nieces and nephew). I think I forgot to tell everyone that we had to do a trip to Phoenix a couple of days ago, for personal reasons (that's why we were back at the Lone Butte Casino)....Anyway, we drove back into Tucson this afternoon to meet up with my sister and her family.

Before we met up with them, we needed to do a few things first...the major thing being emptying the 'terdlet'. We found a free dump site on RVDumps.com, thanks to our good friends Jenn & Johnny, at The Triple T Truckstop. We drove in and checked it out first, making sure we knew where to go, as well as making sure it was actually free...and it was! So glad we looked up the site before driving into Tucson with a full potty, it worked out great. The little area where the dump site is, doesn't have any signs or anything but they do provide running water and a trash can next to the 'hole'.

[caption id="attachment_3914" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A respectful dump[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3915" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Doodie Free[/caption]

If you are travelling and are having a hard time finding places to dump, respectfully and legally, try RVDumps.com. On this website there are free dump sites as well as paid sites, so you get a little bit of everything and it's super helpful! We will be using it from here on out. After our successful, clean dump, we were on our way to the sista's...and I'm so freakin' stoked at this point, I can barely contain any of my excitement.

[caption id="attachment_3917" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Uncontainable Magic[/caption]

The way we planned our arrival was, we would get there right after my one niece, Jem had already gotten home from school, then my other niece Emma would be home an hour after that...and of course my nephew Chacha isn't in school yet, so he would be there with Jem when we first got there.

We pulled up to the house, parked outside by the driveway and rang the doorbell...then I hid on the side of the wall by the front door while J' stood in front of the door. Jem answered the door and stood there, knowing she knew who this man was but couldn't place him...that's when I jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!!" She screamed back and as the door flew open her arms flew around me and she was laughing so hard, saying, "I thought that was Uncle J' but I just couldn't make sense of it!" It was super!! haha We sat down and talked with her and her mom (my sista, Kanga) and she played a little bit of her violin for me...what a treat!

[caption id="attachment_3918" align="aligncenter" width="225"] My Vivacious Violinist[/caption]

When Emma got home, I was a little behind on my surprising skills...she walked in and saw J' first, then me and stood frozen in the doorway. I ran to her, picked her up and squeezed her as she laughed her butt off...it was so fun to be able to surprise them like that! Also when ChaCha got up from his nap, he came out of his room and when he saw me he gave me a huge hug and said, "Hello Auntie Kani!" I was hugging him down on my knees, crying of course, he actually knows who I am!! The last time I saw him in person he was only 8 months old...now almost 4 and he's a walking, talking person...who knows who I am. That was pretty fantastic! ChaCha took really well to his 'Uncum J' too, he wanted to be right up in his lap and show him all of his toys...pretty stinkin' cute!

I was able to give them the necklaces I made for them, too...success! They were so excited to have something handmade for them as well as something I found instead of something bought. They said it made them feel pretty special....well, duh...they are!

[caption id="attachment_3921" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Emma & Jem[/caption]

The girls have school tomorrow so they had to go to bed at their normal time but I got to tuck them in so it was totally radical for all of us involved! hee hee

I'm not sure how long we will be here but I'm going to make sure that we make the most out of every moment and hopefully we'll be able to get my sister and bro-in-law out of the house and on some dates!! When you aren't around or don't have (younger) kids I don't think you truly appreciate the time you get with other adults...because it rarely happens, haha. I'm hoping to be able to give some good, quality, alone time back to my sis and her lover while we're here...also being selfish because I'll get all of that time with my noodlebugs! hee hee

Have you hugged your noodlebugs today!?

PEACE

On the Hunt

Today was a nice day and since I've been sitting in the van more than I would like to I made sure to take Savannah on a nice long walk...this morning and this afternoon. I hope this is the beginning of the warmer weather coming in...hoping, hoping hoping! Earlier today as we were making lunch, I had to pull the cooler out to get food out and kept it out to use as a table. Savannah took it upon herself to make the cooler area her new fort...can't say I blame her, it's soft, dark and cozy down there!

[caption id="attachment_3893" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Fort Bug![/caption]

After our yummy lunch of green beans and chicken, I made Savannah into a Ninja...I haven't dressed her up in a minute, she actually walked around for a while with her outfit on, she's so cute!

[caption id="attachment_3894" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ninja Bug[/caption]

J' and I washed each others hair...oh, how good it feels to have a clean head again. If there's one thing we must have on the road, it's clean hair! When our hair isn't clean, everything feels...well, not right.

[caption id="attachment_3900" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Clean girls![/caption]

 Savannah and I went on a really nice walk in the afternoon on the land behind the casino. I think there is Indian land back there, there are houses and some kind of farm and a bunch of signs that say, "Private Road, No Access", but we always see people coming in and out with cow and horse trailers. Anyway, there is a bunch of open land behind the casino and it's great to take Savannah walking back there because she can hunt (on leash) and scurry about like the crazy lil spirit she is. There are Pheasants (which I found out from friends, are actually Quail) and ground squirrels running about, mostly trying to get away from Savannah but they're still cute and it's good exercise for the Bug.

[caption id="attachment_3901" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pretty Pheasants...er Quail[/caption]

After Nana ran around like a mad-woman, I took her up on top of this gravel hill to watch the land from above. I love watching her 'hunt', she sees every single movement, her head and ears are cocking from one side to the other hearing the chitter chatter of the animals...she's so stinkin' cute!

We must have sat up here a good 35-40 minutes, just watching. J' told me I should have let her off-leash to go hunt but I don't trust her, she never listens to me so she stays on-leash with the momma. It was a beautiful afternoon, glad I took some extra time with my nugget, to just be. It's been a while since we've been able to just sit outside and enjoy the day like that.

I feel like I've been hunting for sunshine lately and today I think I found it!

What have you been 'hunting' for?

PEACE

Detours of Past & Present

The weather changed so much overnight that we thought it would be best if we headed closer to Tucson to get some warmer weather and try to get in touch with my sister and her family. We also wanted to get some other things done since we would be moving the van anyway. So back to Tucson we go!

[caption id="attachment_3875" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Interstate Walls[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3876" align="aligncenter" width="300"] On our way[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3877" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Downtown Tucson[/caption]

We started driving into the streets of Tucson to look for a self-serve car wash and ended up on the streets of Downtown Tucson, there is a lot of construction right now but it was nice to see the city. I don't think as many times as I've been to Tucson...and I was born here...that I've ever actually driven into Downtown...that I'm aware of at least! We drove around where the University of Arizona is, now that is a place I remember very well. When I was about 15-16 years old I came out and visited my sister and her hubby, pre-kids, for the entire Summer.

While I was here I had to keep up with my swimming routine and the University of Arizona was kind enough to let me practice with them during the week and even swim in a couple of swim meets...I was in Heaven!! It was really fun and good for me to have to "keep up" with college swimmers and some of them even had to keep up with me...it was a good confidence booster, plus I got a lot of amazing training from some of U.S.A.'s top swim coaches...and the pool was beautimous! So driving past the University was a little blast from the past for me.

[caption id="attachment_3879" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The outside of the pool[/caption]

We found our self-serve car wash right behind the University, where we stripped Joon Van down to her bare skin and cleaned her up, nice and good! She looks amazing, inside and out!

 The car wash took us about an hour and a half, then we were off to do our other errands, finishing our day driving back to the Casino del Sol.

[caption id="attachment_3884" align="aligncenter" width="300"] T-Rex at a stoplight!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3885" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "A"- Mountain[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3886" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Casino del Sol[/caption]

So, we're back here for...I don't really know. Hopefully I'll get in touch with my sista' soon and we can hook up and get our visit in. I can't wait to see my lil' noodlebugs...they are gonna freak!

Hope you all had a lovely day!

PEACE

 

 

Chilly Climate = Warm Wishes

The wind and chill stuck around for the most part of today, although it did warm up enough for us to take a walk around the parking lot later in the afternoon. This parking lot is so big that it's a really nice walk, actually feeling like we're getting some exercise. We walked around, gabbing and taking in all of the different sights...still getting used to all of the different cactus and plants...they're pretty cool. We walked over to one part of the lot that looked like it might be a sidewalk to a walking path, but just ended up being a dead-end sidewalk with a bunch of cactus 'balls' on the ground. J' went to kick one of the 'balls' and it stuck in his shoe...he was amazed, never had he gone to kick something out of the way just to have it stick in his shoe. He spent a few minutes trying to get it out of his shoe as well as trying not to get it re-stuck in his finger! Crazy cactus balls!

[caption id="attachment_3860" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Kick the 'ball"[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3861" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ball gets stuck in shoe!![/caption]

I shot a few more pics of the crazy cactus that are out here in this parking lot...they are super neat looking...I'm going to have to find out the names of these things!

If anyone knows what they are called, please let me know. Other than that, just another lazy afternoon of walking, working and Winter! I hope the weather starts getting a little nicer and warmer and then stays that way...I'm getting over this whole Winter thing here! haha

PEACE