Merry Christmas Eve!

Today we are in Las Vegas. I am working from here too. Actually, we got up here yesterday (I flew and my mom, Tony and the kids drove). My dad flys in tomorrow so we'll all spend Christmas together. Yesterday was pretty much a travel day and today the kids (boys) woke us up bright and early.

Knowing that we needed to keep them busy and they WEREN'T going back to sleep we got dressed and went to eat breakfast buffet at Green Valley Ranch. Then the kids needed haircuts and we took them to Cool Cuts 4 Kids. We used to use Cool Cuts 4 Kids up in Colorado Springs but alas they don't have one in Tucson. They specialize in kid's cuts and entertain them with movies, and video games. For the smaller ones, they can sit in cars to get their cuts. The boys got "military" cuts (shaves) while Taylor is sporting a really cute new bob. Short hair actually makes all of them look older. (pictures will be posted later). We then came back to the house where I logged into work and the kids and dad put up the Christmas tree and played 2 games of SORRY. Anthony creamed Jackson and Tony both times. But overall they had a blast. Then our friend Garrett came over to play and Tony and Garrett's mom Kim took all the kids to play video games at Chuck E. Cheese. Then Garrett stayed at the house with us to play and now those guys are making cookies. Whew! They did a lot and it's not even 6:00pm yet!!! Does this mean that an early bedtime is in the near future????? As we all know "Santa Claus is coming to town..."

"Hom" XMas

Every year since I can remember my mom's side of the family got together the weekend BEFORE Christmas to celebrate. This year was no different. We had tons of food, the kids got to decorate gingerbread cookies and open presents. It is always great to visit and catch up with family members that we see about once a quarter. Of course this year was much better for us since The UA Wildcats WON the Las Vegas Bowl in football. Hee hee.

Taylor was old enough this year to actually work on the project instead of just eating all the candy. Hers turned out pretty well.

The boys tried to do graham cracker houses again, but the royal icing wasn't drying fast enough so they just stuck to decorating their cookies...and of course sneaking the candy.

Present time! Jackson and Anthony both received an Optimus Prime this year. Those kids have a lot of "Thank you" cards to write up and send out.

Taylor loved her "baby" that she got this year. Fortunately, the under clothes are sewn directly to the doll's body so I won't find naked babies all over the house. hee hee.

Cousins...The boys posing with their cousin Tiffany. Of course I forgot to try and get a picture of all of the "new generation" together. There are 6 of them. Tiffany - 8, (my) Anthony - 7, (my) Jackson - 5, Thomas - 3, (my) Taylor - 2.5 and (baby) Taylor - 1. I am patiently waiting for my other younger to start having kiddos. But they still need to get married first. hee hee.

2008 Holiday Card

Here is our 2008 Holiday card. If I have your address your tangible one will be in the mail soon. If not, enjoy!

Also, our "Blurb" I created for the back of the card is:

2008 was a very busy year for us. The kids were involved in a lot of activities. Anthony participated in Karate, Jr. Tennis, and Swimming. This summer he was able to attend a sports camp at Westward Look Resort and attended a technology camp called "DigiDudes" at The University of Arizona. Jackson participated in Soccer, Jr. Tennis, Swimming and Karate. This summer he attended a soccer camp, was the youngest and smallest one at camp and was the MVP of the camp for the week. Taylor learned how to swim, is taking Ballet and is fully potty trained! Even Tony and Lisa had a chance to have fun this year together when they went to Orlando, Florida in February...KIDLESS!!! Football season this year was amazing! The whole family got to attend a few UofA games together and the boys got to enjoy some much needed "dad and son" time at the Arizona Cardinal games. Anthony is in 2nd Grade and Jackson is in Pre-K at Immaculate Heart Academy. Taylor is going full-time to school at Pusch Ridge Preschool and Kindergarten. They are all doing so well academically. They have made lots of friends and genuinely enjoy going to school every day.

Tony's job at Raytheon has been keeping him busy this year. He is a lead Engineer on a pre-production project due out next year. He's managing his own team as well as is a contributor on his primary project. He still commutes about 45 minutes away from home but has started carpooling with the company carpool system so that's been helping us to save on gas money. He has become the "mega" coach this year. He's been coaching Jackson in soccer and recently has become the 7th grade boys basketball coach for the Immaculate Heart team at the boy's school. Beginning in January 2009 he'll start coaching Anthony and other kids in a YMCA youth basketball clinic.

Lisa is still working the late shift with Oracle and continues to telecommute from home. She's been working out trying to get her ankle stronger so she can finally run and keep up with the kids. Her later work hours enable her to volunteer at the kid's school during morning recess and she proudly holds the title as the "strict lunchroom lady" given to her by the older kids at the school.

We predict that 2009 will be just as busy and just as crazy! Check us out and read about our adventures on our blog at http://maranagrayfamily.blogspot.com. Of course you can always get in touch with us via email at avralisa08@comcast.net.

Addicted to Coffee...

Due to the weather getting cooler, Tony and I have been hitting the Starbucks, McDonald's and Roadrunner Coffee places. I think I'm now addicted! We used to go there to get drinks as a treat and when we got the coffee craving. There was about 2 weeks where I couldn't function in the morning w/o a Pumpkin Spice Frappaccino or a Gingersnap Latte. I have even gone through the drive thru at McDonald's for their Caramel Iced Coffee (thanks for the tip Char) before taking Taylor to school in the mornings. I've become a coffee snob...I won't drink McDonald's coffee after 10:30am (breakfast time) because you don't know how long it's been since a new pot was brewed. And in the afternoon/evenings, I go to Starbucks or Roadrunner because that's what they specialize in. Also, I am partial to hitting the places that have a drive-thru. Even at the UA/ASU showdown, I was trying to find a place to grab a coffee and was starting to get angry that the UofA doesn't have a Starbucks right in the middle of campus.

Anyway, we have finally gotten a coffee maker in our house and have brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee. YUM!!!!!!!!! (Again, Charlotte was right). I love my coffee sweet and this coffee does not have a strong aftertaste at all and it's not hard on my stomach. We'll see how quickly I crash after I'm done with my "Grande size (16oz) caramel coffee" today. Hopefully this will be a money saving change in our habits. I just have to remember to make coffee in the mornings for the 2 of us and to brush my teeth with the whitening toothpaste from now on. Hee hee.

Las Vegas and Playoff Bound Baby!!!

Last night was the "Duel in the Desert" for the Territorial Cup between The UofA Wildcats and ASU Sun Devils. Yaya...my team won! Gooooooooo Wildcats! Which means that we leave our 2008 football season 7-5 and we head to Las Vegas, Nevada for The Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, December 20.

Today, Tony took Jackson to see the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams game. Winning this game meant that the Cardinals win the division and get into the playoffs. They did just that! What a great Football season. Since we are season ticket holders, we paid for our playoff game tickets. We know we are guaranteed 1 home game for sure. We'll see how they do and if they get a second playoff game. You never know...stranger things have happened!

Tony is very happy because he went 3 for 3 in football wins since The Denver Broncos won today as well. They "may" have a shot for a Wildcard spot but we'll see how the remainder of the regular season goes.

Football baby!

Preparing for the New Year

It's soooooo, crazy that December is here and Christmas is 20, almost 19 days away. I have been trying to put the finishing touches on our holiday/New Years card. Gotta love Winkflash and their amazing special on cards right now. The biggest challenge will be organizing all of the addresses of the people we send cards too. But Tony said that he would help me this year...will he hold true to that???? I have to learn line dance steps to teach everyone at the annual "Hom Christmas". Because of that, the YouTube website has become my new best friend. My cousin Darin is getting married late next year and this is our chance to get all of the generations to dance at least one dance together as a family. I don't think it'll be quite as grand as "Rock The Reception" but we'll give it our best shot.

Today was 2nd Grade Reconciliation at Immaculate Heart. Both 2nd grade classes were excused from school for it. Anthony learned all of the lessons however he did not participate in Reconciliation because he is not Baptized. Actually, none of the kids are Baptized so none of them will participate in Reconciliation. I want them to decide the right moment when they will accept God into their hearts and want to be Baptized for all of the right reasons. Until that time comes, they are free to explore and learn about as many Religions as they can. Anthony was fine with not participating in the ceremony and he and dad got to hang out together for a little bit before they came and helped with lunch recess.

It was a very big day for Anthony because he got the day off from school and got to spend the night at a friends house. This is the second time he's done this. There are 3 of them that all hang out together and are very good friends at school. It's very cool because they have known each other in passing from 1st Grade last year as 2 of the boys were not in the same class as Anthony. This year, all 3 of them are in the same class. I feel sorry for the teacher. ;-)

Today was the Scholastic book fair at IHS and each boy got to bring their own money and purchase books for themselves. Very big step for Jackson! Already, he's proving to be a smart "money man". Whoa! Watch out Papa...he's going to take over your store soon.

I think I will take a huge leap and say that Taylor is completely potty trained! She has been staying dry all night for the past 4 months. Even before we started the training, she was keeping her diapers dry at night. She's been out of Training Diapers for about a 2 months now and wears undies 24x7 without any accidents. For the past month she's been excellent about telling us that she has to go. Although we still are in the "parent training" phase and watch the clock and have her go potty every 2 hours but she does 95% of the time without putting up a fight! By far she's been the easiest to train!!! I believe it to be true that girls are easier than boys in this area.

Tomorrow, is the annual UA vs. ASU showdown in Tucson. Our friends are coming down from Chandler for the game. They are a "house divided" as Wendy attended ASU while Rob went with us to the better school. The winner of the game will play in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 20.

Sunday, Tony is taking Jackson up for the Cardinals vs. Rams game. I think they'll have a great time bonding. Jackson is so into sports right now. My parents have already started him on the football pool. Actually all 3 kids enter. Jackson has won once this year and so has my dad, and last week my mom won. Tony and I don't play anymore since we did so poorly the previous 2 years. It's funny too because Jackson asks my mom EVERY Thursday "Nana do you have any football picks for me"? There's no rhyme or reason to the madness, they are just lucky kids!

I'm not sure if I'll get to post one more time before the end of this year so if I don't, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and stay safe!