Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. ~W.J. Cameron

What a glorious Thanksgiving we had this year. We opted to stay put in Arizona this year and since we had no slated visitors, we celebrated with our good friends the Cossebooms. For the first time EVER we had Thanksgiving outside- it was warm, slightly breezy and it was delightful. The food was great...and well earned this year :) Heidi, Annette and I completed our Turkey Trot 10K this morning. It was tough even though we have been training for months, the race seems to take a different effect on your body. We finished though! It felt awesome- felt even better as I was eating my 2nd piece of pie. Thanks Cossebooms for a great day! We love you guys!

Now- on to the reason for today. There is much to be thankful for:
My loving, amazing, sexy, hard working, husband. I LOVE YOU!
Mckinley- she is the highlight of my day. I love to see her growing and changing.
A job- UOP has given me so much in my life and I am eternally grateful.
Family.
Traditions and the excitement of Chrismtas!
My health- I can breathe, I can run, I have no allergies to food (thank heavens).
Friends- I truly believe there are people that come into your life and you will never be the same since you met them.
DownEast Basics- seriously, could there be a better place to spend my hard earned cash??? :)
An education- something no one can take away and I know I earned.
A comfortable bed to sleep in- for 7 years we have had a bed we LOVE to come home to!
Indoor plumbing.
The beach.
New car smell.
A home. Nothing is better than pulling into your own garage every day after work.
The Golden Girls (more specifically, Rose and Sophia).
My testimony of the Savior and his love for me. I know he knows me personally and has a plan for me.
The power of the Priesthood.
DVR- I don't know how I lived without it!
Coupons.
YARD SALES!!!
The smell of the air after it rains.
Snow.

I could go on and on. I am truly blessed beyond what I deserve and look forward to the exciting, yet challenging, months ahead! HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Going the distance

When we first started running in July, I made it to the Fry's (a mile) and had to limp in pain and out of breath, all the way home. This morning, we finished 8 miles for the 2nd time. Yes, that's right, 8 miles. It feels amazing- please do not misconstrue this as bragging- I just never thought in a million years I would be saying I was training for a 1/2 marathon.

Heidi and I ran our 5k last night- finished in 30 minutes. I wanted to finish in 25 but 30 minutes was a good pace. It was so thrilling to be there with all those runners. We are doing the Turkey Trot 10K on Thanksgiving morning. I think it will be good to get up and run so I don't feel so guilty about all the pumpkin pie I am going to eat :)

Thanks Heidi and Annette for pushing me to keep going!
Me and Heid just after the 5k- sweaty, stinky and smiling!!


This was a cute picture of Mark and Mc feeding the ducks. The race was @ a park that has a great duck pond.

Take 2

So only a few weeks late on posting the last of the Halloween pictures. Here are a few more of Mc on Halloween @ the ward Trunk-or-Treat. It was fun. We didn't get to stay long, lost a binkie and had a sticky mess of a kid when we left but...memories :)

In other updates- Mc is finally off the bottle. We have packed them all up and she is now just on sippy cups. She was struggling with her morning bottle (I think more for the comfort of it), but seems to be doing well. She has discovered "Wonder Pets" and LOVES all things rodent- guinea pigs, bunnies, mice...squeals just to see them. She now has a twirl dance that she does whenever music comes on, loves to be outside and is a joy! Such a fun age!


This picture is her before the festivities. She LOVES this little pumpkin. I let her grab it from the bin @ the grocery store and she insisted on packing it around, hugging it, licking it, and biting it.

Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble

I will be posting some more but this picture from our Fall Social at work. Mark was a sweetie and brought her in. It was so fun to see her walking around like she owned the place :)

My rep's wife was in the Elmo costume and Mc LOVED it! She just laughed every time she touched the fur.

May I introduce the Williamsons

Last night we had the pleasure of attending a Halloween Party. First off, our babysitter Kristen has come to our house now twice and seen us dressed up to go out- I guess it is always a surprise when she shows up. Second, I was thrilled to go because we got to dress up and my husband is just as excited to get into costume as I am. I knew immediately what our costumes would be- we already had most of the stuff but it would take a little bit of "costume commitment" on Mark's behalf.

As you can see, Mark had to shave the goatee and the sideburns (those burns are at least a decade old) and AGAIN (for most of you that know Mark) dress as a female, bra included. He also did well with the wig, he took the time to comb it, fluff it and even kept it ever so slightly from creeping into his lip gloss. He also took one for the team and subjected his feet to flip flops.


My commitment was minimal-Mark is pretty low key. The facial hair actually came in a package labeled "white trash beard" which I chopped into a goat and two hand crafted sideburns. Also, notice Mc, complete with bow, came to the party as well.




















The lovely couple


And us with our BEST COSTUME prize. That's right....we came to win and succeeded. It was a fun night and we were glad to get out on the town. Now on to think of a costume for next year, we are thinking of the same theme (Mark being me and me being him) but having us from different decades: 80's Tisha, 50's Mark....I will keep you posted. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Magnificent

All the hype and waiting was worth it! As always, U2 delivered an amazing show! It is truly a life altering experience- the stage, the music and come on, where else are you going to find a guy wearing an ORIGINAL "WAR" concert T-shirt from the concert? The stage was off the hook, the album awesome, and of course, the "Mysterious Ways" never disappoints. We did have seats this year (which we all know the General Admission seating is where the action is) but it was great to see the entire stage, have a seat when you needed to and last but not least, be a little further away than an elbow away from the crazies that always seem to magnetize to our location. But, seriously, it was awesome. The Black Eyed Peas opened, reaffirming why I do love Fergie Ferg and that girl CAN sing live. They weren't lying when they said, "Tonight's gonna be a good night".

Here is me and my BFF Lindsy who came in from Utah (one seat left on the plane but she made it). And again I say, you look great Linds!




Here is Bono- looking as svelte as ever all in black :)

This was the AH-MAZING concert shirt....loved it and had to have it.

















And finally, for your viewing pleasure, and a piece of my heaven, they are webcasting the concert from the Rose Bowl in Cali THIS SUNDAY. Our good friend Tony will be there as they are filming the concert for the DVD of the tour. Tune in to the glories of U2 and become a fan. It will not disappoint.

One year older and wiser too...

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet Mckinley. Everyone says it and you knew it was coming but man, time does fly. We can't believe you are one...this first year has been full of surprises and we are so glad to have you in our family.

Some things we love about Mckinley...
* how much you love books
* your excited squeal
* your squeakie shoes and how those were the shoes that inspired you to walk.
* that you love spending time with daddy
* you love cheese (she is a Williamson)
* guinea pigs, bunnies and mice make you laugh
* "wass at" and pointing @ everything in sight
* kisses when you are in the mood
* the nakie baby run away once you are diaper free
* and lastly, that she is all ours.

It is such a joy being parents. We honestly wonder what life was like before she came along. We are excited to see what the future holds and to watch her learn and grow. We are so thankful to our Heavenly Father for entrusting her to us.

WE LOVE YOU MCKINLEY!