Year: 2014

I was walking into work the other day and snapped this photo. I like the cool weather and the clouds around – plus you still get some splashes of blue. So many different perspectives of the same building. Anyway…

Arabella had her checkup and she is now over 16 pounds. Later on that night we took her to Target and considered getting this cute hat. We decided against it as we really don’t wear hats that much in our family.

Work has been good, so good that I was given some lower-level tickets to an upcoming Coyotes game that they usually give to executives. As much as things seemingly look up, they can also turn just as quickly but I hope they don’t.

At Church, they put up the Christmas tree, and we were there for the event. This is something I could see us doing with our family on an ongoing basis.

Since our tickets were so much lower than normal, we decided to take more photos as well. We even ran into Howler outside when we were walking inside.

These tickets were great. They even featured us a little bit before the game. Okay, they were focused on how cute Arabella was. Either way!

Pretty cool. After the game, we went and got Jerseys for myself and Maryia.

We ended up going to another game just 2 days later and again met up with Howler. He was signing cards and giving them away to the kids (see below). After that game, we went to a few Christmas light displays.

A few days later we made an offer on a house with our realtor. What?! an offer?! Yeah, we have been looking for homes since the summer. We have gone through multiple realtors but Craig (seen below) seems to be pretty good. They didn’t accept our offer and went with someone else instead. The hunt continues.

We rented another car and then went off to church to go to the Christmas eve service. Jake was thrilled with wearing his “ho ho” as we call it. He liked it so much he wanted to tell us about it.

That night I added a photo of our condo with the fire blazing away – a candid shot. Later on, I was in bed and decided to take a photo of our little family that was all asleep (except for me).

The next day we took a trip up north to Flagstaff. They were forecasted to get some light snow- so let’s make it a white Christmas! Arabella brought her new bear along with her and I think we got some pretty good photos.

We have some traditions that we try to do as often as well can. One of those is going to Ruby’s Diner. We visited California and went to our annual post-Christmas dinner at Ruby’s diner. Gas has come down a little so it made it a little easier to make the trip. I won’t complain when gas prices are south of $2. I’d prefer to be south of $1 but I think those days may be gone forever.

We didn’t stay in LA long and were back in our home for New Year’s eve. That night it was cold outside and the forecasters said we could see snow as far down as the anthem foothills. We took a late trip and saw some snow that was closer than it normally is.

The photo of us kissing Arabella was taken just 3 minutes before we rang in the new year.

2015! The year of Back to the Future part 2.

just Pray

note: this post was published on 09/30/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of December 2014 to keep chronological order.

November started off a little slow and a little bit warm. Fun news: Due to being an American Express employee, we get a 1-year membership for free. I’ll take it!

Jake and Arabella are best friends but that doesn’t mean that Jake doesn’t still come over to us for some attention. The photo below is funny because Jake is giving mom some attention, but Arabella is like, ‘hey, what about me?’

We have been able to go to multiple Coyote games lately. It is nice because the tickets are cheap and the arena is cool. Makes for a nice mix when you live in a desert.

November means it is the wife’s birthday. This year we decided to take a trip to Vegas. We rented a car (see below) and were on our way.

We stopped at an M&M factory where they had everything decked out for Christmas. It was a fun surprise along our travels. They even had some desert plants made out of chocolate. We generally don’t plan these trips far out in advance, and for this trip, we used “Hotel Tonight” and got to stay at the Platinum. This thing was big. It had its own hot tub, and kitchen – I mean it probably was as big if not bigger than the Condo that we rent. The view was great, the strip was right out the window. As we made our way outside to check things out, Arabella fell fast asleep.

The view of the strip was nice. We even saw the BURGR restaurant (Gordon Ramsay) – it is something we want to return and visit sometime. Maybe when Arabella isn’t already asleep.

The next day we stopped by a hotel that was used in the filming of Back to the Future, before stopping at the Hoover Dam and heading back to the condo.

Thanksgiving is upon us! We decided to travel to LA for Thanksgiving as my parent’s place is bigger than ours and they are set up more for visitors. Since we were going to be gone a little longer than normal we took Jake with us this time. Of course, he could be found next to Arabella once we arrived at the house.

What is she dressed in? A cute little onesie that has a TURKEY BUTT (see photos below).

After Thanksgiving, we visited the Downey McDonalds location (which is one of the very last locations that was opened by the McDonald brothers). We went all around LA, including the Hollywood walk of fame. After that, we got something to eat, before getting more. Why? well it was Small Business Saturday. American Express gives you free money to spend with small businesses as long as you use your American Express.

You should take advantage of it if you don’t already.

just Pray

note: this post was published on 09/30/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of November 2014 to keep chronological order.

It’s November.

You might not think so if you were outside today.

93°

That’s kind of warm for the ‘good time of the year’ here in Phoenix.

It was our Sunday yesterday. We drove to Tempe and along Mill avenue. There was a Sun devils game going on so everything was busy. It was nice to see life in a city. People outside doing things…

Sad to say it is not that common in north Phoenix… At all.

Tomorrow I start a new shift. I’ll be working the same days but a couple of hours earlier than normal. I’ll take it. Even if it takes some adjusting it will be worth it.

Today we purchased some Christmas lights for outside and in. I think they’ll be really nice. We shall see.

Arabella has been a handful. I swear she is always in harm’s way. It’s like she is a suicidal president and the wife and I are the security detail or her secret service agents.

Anyway it’s getting late so I should be going to bed and get off my electronic devices…

Time to sleep.

PS
I have Sirius satellite radio now and more often than not I now find myself listening to the Joel Osteen channel. It is nice. I still listen to the message… But Joel is helping to keep things a tad more positive.

just Pray.

Hey

This year is quickly speeding by! Time is a funny thing.

Speaking of funny, the other day we were eating some ice cream and Arabella started licking the outside of the bowl. She really wanted some. The photo is pretty hilarious.

We have been taking her to the park that is next to the church and we play with her before we go, or sometimes after we go.

Birthday! Jake had a birthday recently! Look at the dapper cat all decked out in his tie and everything for his big day. This is the loot that he got. Yeah, you heard me – we celebrate his birthday.

Gas has been inching up and is now at 2.95! It is getting costly to fill up. Speaking of cars – Sanderson cut me check to get rid of me and so that I would take my car elsewhere. I took it to Bell Ford and they fixed it in 5 minutes. Amazing. We got a good price for a rental (67.45 for the week) not shabby. If you want a good deal then use Costco Travel and you will get those types of prices too.

At work I donated some money to a charity as part of their Give 2Gether event – and I got a wristband! Go, team! It is also nearing the time for pumpkin patches. We found this really cute one over in the Tempe/Chandler area.

This is a picture of the rental they provided for us. I won’t complain – these cars get amazing fuel economy. We get like 50 to 60 MPG each time we get them. I will have to consider getting a hybrid in the future because gas prices ALWAYS go up, and these cars take away the sting.

I took another random photo at work to show you inside the building. This was late a night after every left, one of the connecting hallways.

With the rental, we took a trip up north to get into some cooler temps and to visit more pumpkin patches. Here is a photo of Ara with Grammy and Grampy followed by a few other random shots. One of a pretty sunset we caught with golden clouds, and another of Arabella being all giggles before we saw some leaves.

The wife decided to dress her up in her Anchor outfit and take photos next to all of the nautical items that we had in the house. How does she react to seeing mommy? See the photo where she was sitting on me?! She lights up the room when she is with her mom, no joke.

We were able to go to the Arizona State Fair for free (thanks to you Fry’s for making this possible). After you spend a certain amount in-store they automatically print off a ticket to the fair. Since we had done it more than once, we were able to go for free. It was cool, we saw a concert and even pet a little roo (fitting since I handle the Australia/New Zealand accounts at work).

Arabella gives mommy a ton of her best smiles, but there is one below where she was just looking at mommy’s face to know what she should do (but couldn’t tell, as told her in the face she made). The end of the month means Halloween. We dressed her up in all sorts of outfits including the one below as a fairy.

Emily stopped by to say hello since we were in her area. It was nice to meet up with her. Arabella took right to her, which is nice to see, especially since she was such a close friend of mine for so long.

just Pray

note: this post was published on 09/30/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of October 2014 to keep chronological order.

Hey

It’s kind of a hard life. I like to put it in perspective. Hard? Not compared to so many other people and what they have or are dealing with. I’m sure that other would be doing wonders in what I’ve royally screwed up.

It’s like that old thought: at the end of life God shows you a painting. You say, ‘wow that’s amazing!’ & He says ‘that’s the life I had planned for you.

For me I can only imagine what kind of scribbled on, torn up raggedy picture that’s been painted so far. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even salvageable…

It’s just… Well…. I’m sure having my life would be easy for some others. Maybe not if they were in my exact shoes with exact faults and insecurities. I don’t think I actually have a hard life, I just think life for me- from day to day is a struggle.

The old Israel meaning (struggles with God). Except mine is struggles with life.

That randomly reminds me of a boy meets world episode. ‘Runs with squirrels’. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you should look it up on YouTube.

That’s another thing that I’ve done recently. Started watching the kids show ‘Girl meets world’ on the Disney channel – it’s cute.

I suppose that’s all I have for now.

just Pray