Merry Christmas

I haven't been blogging lately - spending more of my time running around, as I'm certain you all are too. I wanted to catch up on what's been happening here (a little more words than pictures this time):

Tracy - You may have noticed the picture of one of my sisters that has been staying here with us in our Halloween post... She's still here, struggling with major health issues. We are trying to help her get the aide (medical and government) necessary to allow her a life on her own. It's hard, she has pneumonia pretty consistently, plus a variety of other major ailments. We hope that mid-January she will be able to move to Utah near her kids and start again. Wish us luck. :)

Health - We count this as a major blessing! After last year's continuous battle with cold/flu bugs, (Sydney & I passing them back and forth) we have been praying mightily that we would be albe to stay healthy this winter. And so far, we have. One day Syd had a fever, not too bad. We are so grateful. Oranges! Lots and lots of oranges.

Pace - We had him here a little more last week since his folks took a vacation (slow season for pest control), which we ENJOYED. Now it's back to the grindstone... Last month he did send out his law school applications to UofA, ASU, TX Tech & BYU. The deadline for the majority of the schools to respond is around May of next year, so there's still some time. However, he did sign a binding early decision agreement with UofA = he'll have an answer THIS MONTH (could be yes, no, or we'll let you know come May). Nail biting times - kidding. We feel peace about it. He'll end up where the Lord wants him to be, we are certain. As of late he just got a new calling to be the Assistant Scout Master & Assistant Deacon's Quorum adviser- which he'll love. Merry Christmas, Pace! You get to go camping once a month! Hurray!

Syd - Whew. She keeps us busy. Her new craze is pulling up (make that, having us pull up) clips from youtube.com for 30 mins at a time. She loves the screaming frog, the aggressive turtle chasing cats out of his garden, and the monkey who taunts tigers in the jungle. It's hilarious. She is delighted when we adhere to her demands for "Fog!" or "Mon-tey" on the computer, but boy does she throw a fit if/when we don't. Terrible two's are just up ahead, you know it. Anyway, she's a growing girl, getting tall and thinning out (not such a baby anymore)... We absolutely love her. :)

What do I do? I just got released from Gospel Doctrine, now I am the Enrichment Leader. Fun, fun... Pray for me - I don't do as well as a group/team player. I'm much better on my own... (we all need to grow now don't we). :) ...I am nervous a lot - must be the impending doom of student life and tremendous debt law school affords. Plus the inevitable move... :) Laugh with me - I am THRILLED with my road ahead! Just nervous, that's all. Very common.

One of my new year's resolutions is to be better with posting to our blog. More open... wish me luck. :) I enjoy reading your's - keep the good lines rolling. Merry Christmas!

It's cold out there...

at least for Arizona.
I turned the heat on today.

Am I a pansy or what :)

Today I am especially thankful for...

In-laws with a fun backyard - helps to keep our girl sane :)
And Arizona's gorgeous Thanksgiving weather!

Lily - Syd's favorite female playmate and neighbor.
Happy 1st birthday, Lily!

Siblings who make life fun! (Did I mention I have 14?)

My youngest brother Peter teaches Syd to ride a skateboard, She loves him!

Hair that's finally long enough for ponytails and pigtails - I just love her chubby cheeks and neck!

Christmas decorations!
The banister is my favorite upgrade for this very reason...

Lights off, lights on... :) We love FROSTY!
Happy Holidays!!

The Phoenix Zoo

Pace and I took Sydney for the first time to the Zoo last Saturday, and then (because we have a year pass - best present I have ever received, thank you to my CHASE co-workers!) Ashleigh and Tracy and I went back on Veteren's Day! Here are a few of the things we saw and did...

I had to put a few video's on here:

"Tiger! Raaoooor! Meow!"

Sydney "Getting Her Wild On"
before the show starts...

We sat down early at the Wild Things Show, very front row.
The trainers asked me to be the "adult volunteer" and told me I would be feeding a baby bird.
PS - For those of you who read my previous post about athleticism, this proves my point - I really am not athletic. Ha! (3rd time's charm, though)...

"Open your eyes, Sydney, the bird's gone!"
It flew right over our heads... Hilarious! Freaked poor Sydney out.

Happy Halloween!

My sister Tracy & Sydney enjoying a Halloween treat

Tracy is staying with us for a while. It's nice having her here!

Here's our little pumpkin - in a tutu :)
Baby Roo is actually Luke, Sydney's first "boy-friend" (besides her cousins). :) Since they were barely crawling they'd both scream and play excitedly when they'd see each other. He's a doll!

Our friend Ronnie made this costume - we loved it!



I love this video! It's pretty dark, but Luke and Sydney are running around, Sydney's just laughing a ton, then she stops suddenly and points -

"SPONGEBOB!"

Part 1: DC, Harper's Ferry, & Phili

Our trip was great! Six days in the DC area:

THE CAR - Surprise!

A Pontiac Solstice - anyone seen Transformers?
Cassie's sweet "kick butt divorce car"

I certainly had fun driving this!
Thank you Cassie!

Their condo felt to me like a sweet Bed & Breakfast
(Fredrick, MD)

Our friends Cassie & John enjoying Sushi - YUM!

DC & Harper's Ferry

We ate at some of the best restaurants!
Jaleo, Spanish tapas - the most authentic Spanish food this side of the Atlantic!
And Zaytinya, Mediterranean food. Our FAVORITE.
Both resturants are ran by the same chef Jose Andres.

Check out his link: http://www.joseandres.com/index2.php

PHILADELPHIA

Part II: Gettysburg, PA

This was a perfect day!
A Sunday with amazing weather. We took the top down, and drove for 5 hours around this awesome historic battlefield.

Holy cow, this video took FOREVER to upload...

Pace was a great tour guide!
He prepared by having me watch parts of the movie Gettysburg with him - had me pay close attention to some of the story lines. It really helped me appreciate the monuments and sights we were seeing. Amazing.

I found my Camera - AGAIN

I thought I lost my camera, thankfully I learned I just had lost my mind (momentarily). I put it away, fearing I would loose it. I need a GPS tracker installed in that thing. Anyway, all is well. I'm just nuts....

1. What happened?
Softball game - Sydney cleaned off all the benches at Freestone Park with her new white polo shirt. Not so fun for Mom to try and get clean, however she loved it!

2. Eating with a FORK
She's insistent now that I let her feed herself. Often she'll hold the spoon/fork in one hand and eat with the other (I know you all feel my pain - she'll get the hang of it. Hopefully before my carpet gets ruined). The good news is my daughter loves squash. :)

3. Ash is going to play MOM
Pace and I leave for DC next week, alone... wish us luck. We're going to miss her, but we'll find a way to enjoy ourselves. :) Thanks Ash and Anthon for taking over for a few days! Sydney LOVES you guys!

4. Do tan lines on a 18 month old indicate bad parenting??
I don't think so...Top side, she is almost able to swim by herself! Aunt Ash is a GENIUS when it comes to swim lessons! She should offer lessons next year, if so... sign 'em up!

5. OB 1 Kenobi - Cracks me up... I love kids. :)

6. My favorite thing to do in the car - make her laugh!

RawlinsFam Beginnings...

Or, if you're a french Quebecuer, it's "bE-ginnings". (Ha! Melanie, that was for you. Love you! :) I got tagged by my friend/mission sister Nikki! Thank you! This is a fun one. :)

1. Where did you meet your husband? At Bishop Vance's house - our first activity in a newly divided single's ward. I call it fate. Pace, he liked my shoes. I later learned he IS a shoe horse. :)

2. What was the first thing you said to your husband? I think he spoke to me first, really. He and Gavin were sitting next to us (my sister and I - we were crying inside about having to leave our old ward...) They were sweet. Seriously, Pace told me he liked my shoes (they were pretty cool. Ha!).

3. Where was your first date? This is where the story gets interesting... An entire year later (after Bishop Vance and a counselor in our ward BOTH told Pace he should take me out, plus other people commenting on how we ought to get together...) we went out as a group of friends for New Year's Eve. (For more details on this read the "Wow Stories" post further down the blog.) Later in the evening we were at my house watching TV and... he kissed me. :) That counts as our first date. The next night we went to see the movie Spanglish (gay). But, I was struck, for SURE. Before New Year's Eve I had had enough time to see how great of a person he is, serving in the ward, being sweet to EVERYONE. He had started to notice me more too (in his own time)... And we HIT IT OFF. :)

4. Where was your first kiss? On the mouth. :) Just kidding, read above #3.

5. Did you have a long or short engagement/courtship? Short on both. Allow me to reiterate, we had had a year to get to know each other as friends/acquaintances... Once we actually started dating it took only 2 months to feel like we may be getting married (each has admitted to that), and just 3.5 months from the fist kiss to be engaged. We were married June 17th (do the math - that's 5.5 months from our first date). Exciting, perfect, and RIGHT. That's all I can say. Plus, a BLESSING!! With Pace I really feel like I won the lottery!

6.Where did you get engaged? On top of South Mountain - it's his "spiritual mountain". Very special. :) The little dork tricked me though. On our way there (it was his birthday - I had hoped he would propose that day, but...) he faked a phone call from his jeweler saying, "Oh, ok... So that one's been sold? Well, I'll have to bring her in again. I'll call you later." He just wanted it to be a surprise. I was happy when he pulled out the "birthday present" box hidden in his backpack and asked me to help him open it (a gift from his mom, supposedly). Cute. :)

7. How was the honeymoon? Fabulous! A 10 day cruise through the inside passage of Alaska. We played basketball at midnight with plenty of sunlight.. ate a ton. Hot tubbed on the deck. It was AWESOME!! Thanks, Kim and DeRay! (Pace's parents)

We were very rested once we got home - a blessing, too. My father died only 3 weeks after we were married. I came back to him in the ICU, unable to speak, move or do anything. A HARD time, but we got through it, along with my entire family. I know he's better now and I am grateful the Lord allowed him to live to see Ashleigh and I get married!

So... Let's hear some of your bE-ginnings. :) I tag Alishia, both Jamie's (if your name's Jamie, I tag you), Rachel, Keri, and Kimmie. I suppose, Kimmie, you won't mind filling this one out. :) Love ya!

Pretty Hair

Leftover hair-do's by Aunt Ash:
These are gorgeous hair-do's newly set, but hilarious misfits once pulled out. I couldn't resist... Is there anything else I do besides take pictures of my daughter?? Oh, yeah, scrapbooking. :)

The Front

The Back

The Classic Mullet

I call these:
"Millions of peaches, peaches for me...
What are you laughing at?"

Sniff, Sniff Pages

Will any of you admit to having seen The Princes Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement? :) Julie Andrews sings a song that (in my nuerotic/emotional state that day) made me cry! This is what the Disney Channel has done to me - other than every so often I find myself dancing to The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song "Hot Dog". Hey, it's catchy! Anyway, about the song - I have been scrapbooking a lot, reflecting more.... This song in particular touched me, mostly because it reminds me of my little sister (double wedding). So tonight I added these phrases to my scrapbook on the Brides/Sisters page.
(Yes Ash, pure corn, but really, sniff sniff):

Dear little girl,

you are terribly blessed
But it's your heart of gold
I love the best
And that will be your crowning glory
your whole life through
It'll always be your crowning glory
The most glorious part of you

I hope everyone has a sister or someone who is also like this!
What a blessing they are!

Here you go - a look at a few of my completed pages...
Pace says it's lame to post them, but a couple people
have asked me to. So... Don't laugh :)

First Page Last Page

A little dark but I was very pleased with these - first pages I ever made!

That's all I'll put in here... I still have quite a bit of work to do.
Hope you're all having a great Friday!
Keep the touching moments flowing - Let's hear it for the Disney Channel!

Four hour nightmare

Scrapbooking isn't fun when you do it by yourself, I've discovered. Tonight I about had a meltdown. :) It's our wedding album - I finally started it a couple weeks ago, having never tried to scrapbook before, I quickly became addicted... Now I'm stuck.

In the infamous words of our three year old nephew,
"I can't know how!"

Ashleigh, come home soon - I need some help getting the creative juices flowing again... Any of you have scrapbooking parties? I'd love an invite. I'm totally open to having one here, too. Let me know!

To Grandma's house we go!

Grandma Mona's house in Show Low
Peter, Ashleigh, family doesn't it look great?
I love the new paint job!

Sydney loved playing around in nature...
she's always a fan of grass. :)

Grandma's cat "Jezebel" - hilarious, Mom calls her a tramp :)

Sydney received her first piano lesson
...more like she banged on it.
Hey, we all gotta start somewhere, right?

Here was our favorite part - Mountain rains...
Sydney had never been in the rain before!
She had a FABULOUS time getting SOAKED.

"Wow!"
Check out this video - I don't know who was more tickled pink
Sydney, or me and Grandma!

Drying off... Her face:
"I don't know what that was, but it was awesome."
Grandma Mona WE LOVE YOU!

Kimmie, we gotta get you and Clark up there!
Michale, you and the boys... let's go sometime too!!