Family Vacation 2009

Last weekend marked the first time in history (since kids were brought into the family) that the Lee family took a vacation. Yeah, we've visited family out of town and took short 'work' trips with Mike but, according to Mike, those trips don't count as real family vacations. Whatever, as long as we are together as a family, it's a family vacation. So, this is what we did: On Sunday we drove north to Flagstaff and spent the night at a hotel. The plan was to walk the lava flows and experience nature and the beauty of the landscape. Instead, I ended up in the emergency room with a major earache from the change in altitude. I spent the first 3 house of our (first) family vacation in the ER. I asked to be released to my family with a pain pill, some antibiotics and (safe) steroids. All is well now.
The next day we toured Lowell Observatory and had a blast learning about the sun and stars. The scenery was beautiful - Flagstaff looks a lot prettier from atop a mountain. After a quick stop at a store to get lunch supplies, we drove over to Meteor Crater and toured the museum and crater and everything around it (that wasn't off limits). Note to all who have little kids: visit Meteor Crater with caution, preferably with harnesses on small and unpredictable children. Joe almost took at 50ft plus dive off the edge. On a lighter note, the weather was super: a bit of sunshine, a bit of rain. Skipping to the very end: the kids had a super duper time and me and Mike survived. I am willing to give more details about our trip on a personal level (trying to keep this post short).
We are glad to be home and can't wait for the next Lee Family Vacation Trip! I am dying to visit the old copper mine in Bisbee, AZ.

A convention, lunch, flowers and a yummy dinner

Today is our anniversary, 14 years down and eternity to go!
As the Lee family spokesperson, I have to say that I am pleased with the past 14 years of marriage and am looking wide-eyed toward the next 14 (or 20 or 30). We've worked hard on getting along (very important), entertaining each other, encouraging each other, supporting each other, making up for each other's (rare) shortcomings and many more couple-like attributes since the day we got married. I will admit that it hasn't always been easy, duh, who said it would be? But, hum, I must say that our marriage has always been fun, interesting, entertaining and lovely.
Moving on...
Thanks to my mom and niece (must-have babysitters), we were able to celebrate our anniversary with a trip to beautiful downtown Phoenix for the annual NRA convention (neat) and dinner on Saturday. Then, today, Mike and I went to lunch (kid-free), it was so nice. We wrapped the day up with a yummy dinner and a guest (my mom). What a great day! Oh! and Mike got me a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers!! I will post a pic soon (and yes, they are in a pitcher - see below if ???).

Bouquet in a pitcher

Mike gave me this beautiful arrangement of flowers for Mother's Day. Isn't it gorgeous? It's in a pitcher because, well, I don't have a vase. I used to. I used to have a couple of vases. For some reason, children and vases don't agree with each other. Some how the children always win and the vase(s) ends up with a broken heart (and head and bottom).

It's May, already!

Gee, time is flying by so fast! I can't believe it's May already - wasn't Easter just last week? It must have been because I'm finding jelly beans under the furniture and pieces of plastic eggs everywhere (including in my van)! Either that or, I haven't cleaned out my van or under my couch since Easter.

Sam saw me sewing some cute little hair clips for an upcoming boutique and asked if I could teach him how to sew. Heck, yeah! Let's get this boy mending his OWN clothes! He brought me a shirt with a 2" tear on the side. Just in case you're wondering, he wears this shirt to bed and I do not send him to school with holes in his clothes (pants and undies excluded). I gave him a needle and thread and showed him the basics of sewing (or is it stitching?). It's not merit badge worthy but he did a fair job for a first-timer.