Tea Party

Grandma Hamilton gave me a beautiful china set with matching tea settings as a wedding gift. A few Christmas seasons later, Jared purchased the matching tea pot for me. Afterr getting settled in to our new home, I figured it was time to host a tea party and meet some of the neighrbors. First, I made invitations.Next, I cleaned house, set the table, and prepared finger foods.

Finally, we socialized!Thanks for joining me, ladies!

Marine Corps Ball 2009

Fresh-faced and ready-to-go

POW/MIA table - The table is round, signifying everlasting concern for the missing. It is small, representing the helplessness of one person, alone, against his oppressors. The table cloth is white, symbolizing their faithful call to duty; a black napkin reminds us of those who will not be returning home. A single red rose represents the continuing lives of the missing--their family and friends keeping the faith that they will return. A white candle signifies the light of hope, illuminating their way back home to us. Salt represents the tears that have been shed by their loved ones. Lemon represents their bitter fate--if we cannot bring them home. The inverted glass and empty chair represent the fact that they are unable to toast or participate in the evening's celebrations with their colleagues.Jared in his "Adjutant" dutiesJared, Chad and Todd

Table #10

Globe and Anchor ice sculptureMid-night shot

5K Run

No pictures today. Jared and I ran the first official organized 5K run that I have participated in since high school this past Saturday. In Okinawa, I ran a few 5Ks on Kadena Air Force base, but you had to run 6 races to receive a prize water bottle, 12 races to get a prize tee-shirt, etc. Needless to say, I did not ever receive a token of participation...too many Saturday mornings to waste for a cheap gift! However, I was excited when Jared presented me a registration form about a month ago for this weekend's Veteran's Day 5k.

The run itself was not my best run, but my lungs hurt all yesterday and I felt a little sore in my hamstrings this morning, so I know I tried hard! Jared placed 7th in his age group and 15th overall and I placed 6th in my age group and 25th overall. If not anything else, we have great satisfaction in knowing we beat a bunch of active duty Soldiers during the race!

Let the Halloween Festivities Begin!

This picture is from a Ghoul's Night Out (BUNCO) held ealier this month. Unfortunately you can't see the sweet fake skull-n-crossbones tattoo I had on my right forearm!

Youth Conference

Here are some photos from the Sierra Vista Arizona 2009 Stake Youth Conference (Pioneer Trek).

Jared and I represented "Ma and Pa" James & Elizabeth Bleak (pronounced "Blake"), of Surrey, England--one of the very few families from the Willey Handcart Company who did not suffer any family member deaths while traveling along the handcart trail to the Salt Lake Valley.

Through the course of the day, we pushed our metal handcart a total of 8 miles. The youth in our "family" were awesome! We are proud of their positive attitudes and willingness to work.

We were all so grateful to see that sunset--it meant the day was almost over!

Gidi

Our new kitty, Gidi (it means "cat" in Apache) has brought a lot of joy to our lives over the last few weeks. She seems to think she is a dog--she enjoys hopping into my bubble baths, chasing her tail, and snuggling on the couch with us. She eats muffin crumbs, popcorn, and dinner left-overs. The below video is just a taste of some of the silly things she does!

Backyard visitors

"Praying" Mantis



Male Gila Woodpecker