Snow on the mountains!

Last week we had a huge storm blow through Arizona.  It dumped over 20 inches of snow in Flagstaff and almost that much up on Mt. Lemmon!  We had quite a bit of rain, but no snow at the house.  However, we did enjoy the view of the snow-capped Catalinas.

Last Flight of 2009

Written by D in December 2009...

Yesterday, I tried getting the engine going again after the plane had been sitting in the garage for eight months.  I was surprised to find that the engine had no compression because a huge amount of rust developed on the valves!  One of them was stuck pretty badly.  No big deal to unstick it though.  I did eventually get the engine going, so I could finally go to the park and fly.

Since I haven't flown much lately, I was a little worried about remembering how to do it...  As the plane when down the runway, I looked like it would never lift off.  The RPM's were way to low.  It barely flew, so I did a few circles (because I had the GPS on board) and I landed.

I leaned out the mixture and got a lot more thrust, so with my confidence somewhat restored, the plane left the ground and I could start doing the "fun stuff".  I did several "regular" passes back and forth to let the GPS record the level flying speed.  Then I did a couple of high climbs and fast dives just to see what my top speed would be.  After downloading the GPS data, I found the speed during level flight was about 50 mph and reached 97.3 mph during one of the dives.  Maximum climb rate was a disappointing 500 ft per minute, but that's what a bigger engine is for.

Unfortunately, I after flying a only few minutes, I had re-learned just enough to get me into trouble.  I did another one of those "don't ever do this" things printed in all the plane manuals.  Normally I do them all the time, but after more practice!

Three consecutive 360 degree rolls at an altitude of maybe 80 feet.  That was the plan anyway, but I ended up doing three and a half 360 degree rolls.  Nearly pulled out of it, but I needed another 10 or 20 feet of altitude.  The plane nosed in pretty hard into a freshly plowed field, but I wasn't sad because I had the GPS recording everything!

Plane #2 is nearly done anyway.

Chocolate Valentine Creations

I have 3 chocolate parties scheduled for this month and, so far, 2 in February.  I needed to practice my Valentine Chocolate making skills (and the family had no problem taste-testing!)

I made some heart-shaped brownies and dipped them in tempered chocolate (YUM!), made some dark chocolate dipped spoons as raffle prizes for my party guests, and 50 chocolate-dipped fortune cookies (for the parties and my MOPS group).  Macy and Joey made their own chocolate bowls by dipping small balloons in the tempered chocolate and letting them cool.  I tried to get a picture of them after the balloons were popped, but the kids ate the up before I got a chance!

 

No More Training Wheels!

On January 17th, Donald took the training wheels off of both Macy & Joey's bikes.  Their were immediately off and riding like pros!

January 2010

Here are some pictures of our first few weeks of 2010.  Sunrise, strudels, & the blooming amaryllis.

Science Project - seeds

One of Macy's science projects was to watch the life cycle of a plant from seed, to plant, to seed.  We started growning some kidney beans in December.  The control plant was to be put in the window sill and watered every 3 days.  One plant was to be put in the window sill, but not watered.  The other plant was to be put in a dark place and watered every 3 days.  Joey and Macy loved watching their seeds sprout and once we planted them they saw that what they learned in their book was true.  Plants need sunlight, water & air to grow (and some nutritious soil helps!).  Their plants have flowered and now have large bean pods.  Macy is excited to grow a second generation of beans!

 

Christmas 2009

Donald took two weeks off during Christmas this year and it was wonderful to have him around!  He'd been working such long days that we hadn't seen much of him.  I had just finished with the last of my chocolate parties for the year and we were all ready to relax.

We didn't decorate the outside of the house this year (most of you know that situation...for those who don't, just know that the System works and the ticket was dismissed!)  It was hard to get into the holiday spirit when it is a balmy 75 degrees outside!  The kids were playing in the sprinklers up until the week before Christmas...on Christmas Eve it was 72 degrees.

Donald's parents came to visit during Christmas Week.  The kids had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa.  I'm not sure who had more fun with the new R/C John Deere Tractor though, Joey or Grandpa?

Nana & Papa arrived the day after Christmas and we enjoyed

some more BBQing, cornhole games, and family time.

The Monday after Christmas we drove into Tucson and redeemed 

all of our gift cards.  The kids had a great shopping spree at Toys 

R Us and Walmart and D and I had a great time picking out a new

dining room light from Home Depot and a kitchen faucet at Lowe's 

(which just happens to match our bathroom faucets!)

Installing that faucet is a different story.  But Donald is amazing

and, while I tried to bite my tongue, he worked some magic, 

replumbed our kitchen sink, and voila, we have a wonderful new 

faucet! (was there ever any doubt?)

Donald's Indoor Skydiving Experience

For his birthday last year, I bought Donald a gift certificate for an indoor skydiving experience in Eloy, Arizona.  He finally got around to using it this last December.  I had a chocolatier meeting in Casa Grande and, since the skydiving facility is on the way, D decided to give it a try.


There were 10 people in his skydiving group and each person got two 1-minute "jumps".  There is a large turbine below the grate floor that blows air up and gives you the experience of floating (instead of diving).

Shooting with the Brown Boys

In December we drove out to the Pima/Pinal County line with the Brown Boys and spent the afternoon shooting some guns.  Macy & Joey kept busy playing in the dirt and with their R/C van.  Towards the end of the day, the kids shot the BB gun and the .22 pellet gun.

We did a little target practice with the .22 rifles...and I won!  D wanted me to shoot the 12 gauge, but why ruin my record? 

Thanksgiving in New Mexico/Texas

After our trip to Williams, we headed east to Clovis.  It is still close to a 9-hour trip even though we were on the interstate for most of the way!

We spent the week in Clovis with Donald's parents and had Thanksgiving Dinner out at Garrett & Krista's house.  The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins.

Thanksgiving Eve we had dinner at Shogun.  It was the kids' first time at a Teppanyaki  restaurant and the first time to use chopsticks.






No trip to Texas could be complete without shooting some guns!

Preview

Polar Express Train Ride

This year Nana & Papa bought tickets for the Polar Express Train ride in Williams, Arizona, west of Flagstaff.  As soon as Nana knew about Macy (way back in January of 2004), she has been planning for this ride.

We drove up to Williams on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and met Nana & Papa at the hotel.  The kids got in their footied jammies and we headed over to the train station.  Joey was so excited to see a train so close up and both of them were excited to go see Santa.  Nana &Papa took the kids on the train while D and I had a quiet evening out.

Grandpa Visits & Nascar Races

My dad came down to Arizona for 10 days in November.  The weather was wonderful and the kids enjoyed Grandpa Time.  This year we only attended the Craftsman Truck Races at the Phoenix International Raceway.  We took the kids and they had a great time.  

2009 Catch-Up!

November and December are always incredibly busy months in the Nelson house.  I thought I'd have a chance before NOW to get the blog updated...but it turns out that with all of my new responsibilities (and all of the old ones), January is also a very busy month!


Macy is loving her school work and is learning so many new things that D and I don't think WE learned in Kindergarten!  She is working on her math skills, can add and subtract double digits, and is even working on multiplying!  I think science may be her favorite subject due to all of the amazing science projects we do.  She is quickly becoming a wonderful reader, too!

Joey loves his trucks, planes, bikes...pretty much anything with wheels.  However, he looks forward to our MOPS days, which he refers to as "my school" (it is the same location where Macy had preschool last year.)  He really likes his worksheets and new workbooks that he got for Christmas and I think the transition to more lesson time next year will be smooth.


Donald seems to really like his job...however the rest of us aren't so excited about his long hours at work.  He had 2 weeks off during Christmas and we enjoyed having him home!  He even had time to fly his plane...which ended in an incredible crash!  Looks like it may be another few months before he flies it again.


My days are full and rewarding.  I'm enjoying homeschooling Macy & Joey!  It is amazing to watch them explore and learn and then talk about those things while they play together!  This year (2009-2010) I am the membership coordinator for our MOPS group.  I love the new friendships I've formed, but this particular job takes up more time than I'd like!  My Dove Chocolate Discoveries™ business is booming!  I was the #1 chocolatier in Arizona in November and December and I'm working on being #1 in January, too!  I have 8 chocolatiers under me now and I should have another 2 by the end of the month!  However, this leadership role is also incredibly time-consuming!  I'm looking forward to the girls getting a little experience and going off on their own.  I love the chocolate parties and the kids love helping me prepare for them (probably because they get to sample along the way!)


The following posts are from events of November & December.  Enjoy!

December in Marana

I have tons of pictures and events to post about, but the whole family has been busy with work, homeschooling, Chocolate Parties, and getting ready for the holidays.  I promise that as soon as I have a real slice of uninterrupted time I will update the blog!

In the mean time I just wanted to let everyone know that today, December 15th, we are enjoying some beautiful weather!  It is 82 degrees on the patio and the kids are in their shorts playing in the water.  I have the XM station set on Christmas music, but it's not helping us get into the holiday spirit.  

I'm getting all of my chocolate supplies in order after some incredible parties (I'm the #1 chocolatier in Arizona and on my way to becoming a Team Leader!).  Dove has a great Valentine's special available in January and I'm filling up my Party calendar quickly!  I'm also trying to reorganize the house after our crazy last few weeks in preparation for my Donald's parents arrival on Sunday.

Look for new posts in the next few days.  

Enjoy your holidays!

Happy Halloween!

I had to work on Halloween this year, but D took the kids trick-or-treating.

Arizona State Fair

This year we were able to attend the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix for FREE! The fair offers free field trips for schools on Thursdays and free days for homeschool students on Tuesdays. We received a free parking pass as well as free admission...which meant we had just that much more money to spend on the all-important carnival food and rides!!! We arrived just before 10am and toured the barns and exhibits and we even got to make our own tie-dyed T-shirts (with exclusive coupons for homeschoolers!).

After we had a yummy BBQ lunch we headed to the rides. D splurged and bought all of us unlimited ride wristbands! Some of you may remember Macy's last encounter with carnival rides, but this year was different. She LOVED the roller coasters and the log ride and both Macy and Joey loved the obstacle courses. Joey got a little frustrated because he was an inch too short to enjoy some of the rides, but D talked the attendants into letting him ride (some) anyway. Macy wanted to ride the Mega Drop, but she was too short!She did find a smaller version at the Kiddie Carnival and made D ride with her (he didn't enjoy it too much!)

We finally left the fair a little after 9 pm. What a great day! We'll definitely be going back next year!

6th Annual Nelson Family Punkin' Pickin' Expedition

Once again we made our annual drive to Buckelew Farm just west of Tucson to select our pumpkins. It wasn't so blazing hot this year...possibly because we arrived close to 5 pm instead of our usual 10 am trek!

Our plan was to choose ONE pumpkin for the family. However, Joey immediately set out picking up a different pumpkin every 5 feet or so. Somewhere along the way he convinced Macy to carry one of his pumpkins, which she adopted as her own. I found a huge green pumpkin that I couldn't pass up and D found a big round one that he just had to have. We headed home with $40 less in our pockets and an extra 56 pounds of essential pumpkins in the car!

Miscellaneous October Stuff

We've been quite busy with our lessons, MOPS, chocolate parties, and preparing for the upcoming holidays, so I haven't made time for updating the blog. However, today I hope to get everyone up to speed!

These are just some random pictures from October. I didn't get the camera out too much, but we've been having a great time now that the weather is cool enough to be outside and still warm enough to enjoy it!

Happy Birthday Macy Sue!

Macy only wanted two things for her 5th birthday. A purple My Little Pony and to go camping and fishing! On the 18th we headed up to the White Mountains. It was a little wet and chilly, but she (and Joey) had a great time!

It rained most of Friday night and hailed Saturday morning, but we still headed to the lake to fish. We finally found a good spot and settled down to fish. However the weather had other plans and a thunder storm was quickly approaching. The kids had their rain ponchos for wet weather, but as the lightening came closer we started to pack up. Donald reeled in Joey's line and he had caught a giant crawdad! We ran back to the Yukon in a hail storm and decided to drive around the back roads until the weather cleared up so we could go back to fishing. We found some other secluded camp areas for next summer and then D decided we should go for a hike...in the rain. We saw some beautiful scenery and heard lots of elk calling nearby. Macy learned the difference between pine trees, Douglas fir trees, and Blue Spruce (we'll see if she remembers when we go camping next spring!)

Saturday night we heard lots of elk calling as they came down to the lake. At some point the trailer battery died which meant that the heater fan also stopped. Luckily we have nice down comforters on our beds, but it was quite cold in the trailer! We woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning. We had the last of Macy's cake for breakfast and started packing up. A squirrel ventured into our trailer as I was trying to load up the Yukon, and it scampered out and sat on a nearby rock as I came back inside. We put some chips on the rock and the kids had fun watching it eat. As we were packing up, both Macy & Joey asked where we were going next and were quite disappointed that we were headed home instead of to another camping spot! We have some minor repairs to do next Spring before we head out for camping again - Joey now wants to go camping for HIS birthday!

New Tree

Yes, once again we have planted a NEW tree in the yard. We loved our Bottle Trees, but they are extremely susceptible to Cotton Root Rot. Over Labor Day Weekend, D found a small Silver Dollar Gum Tree (Eucalyptus) at Lowe's for $20. They are immune to the root rot and are fast growers. So D pulled out the little bottle tree, dug a new hole and we planted this new tree. It seems to be doing well and we can't wait for it to grow a little taller and block out the view of the neighbors' homes across the greenbelt!

Rag Curls

I rolled Macy's hair up in rags, tied them and she slept in them over night. She loved having tons of bows in her hair yesterday and was even more delighted with the springy curls this morning!

Water Trail in Celery

This weekend the kids each chose a stalk of celery and placed it in a glass of colored water (red for Macy & blue for Joey). Later we saw the path that the water took throughout the stalk. Daddy put a thin slice of celery stalk under the microscope for Macy to examine.

Terrariums!

On Friday Macy and Joey made their "gardens". Now every morning they come downstairs to see how much their ivy has grown and to watch the leaves "breathe".

Volcano!

On Friday we created our Volcano and once Donald got home from work we watched it erupt!















Click on the video...

Crafts

Today we will be making a volcano (dough and all). But first the kids wanted to paint. Joey pulled out the bulldozer kit and painted all the tiny pieces yellow. Macy chose to paint a butterfly magnet.

I will have to post the volcano pictures soon!

Sleepy Joe

The kids haven't been taking naps for the last week or so. However, Joey usually passes out on the couch around 4:00pm. Yesterday I caught him snoozing on his basketball!

Fossils

Macy learned about different types of rocks, geologic formations, and fossils earlier this week. Then we made some plaster and created our own "fossils" from leaf imprints. I would love to take them fossil hunting some day. I still remember my trip up past Kettle Falls (or was it Metaline Falls?) where our class had the opportunity to break open the sedimentary rocks and find amazing fossils!

"Air" Science Experiments

Donald and the kids performed more science experiments last weekend. First they did the "upside down trick" to show that air pushes on the cardboard and keeps it in place. Then they tried the "disappearing dent" to show that when the air inside the ping pong ball gets warmer, it expands and pushes the dent out.

Playtime at the Park

It has been so hot here that we don't leave the house during the day. However, around 7:30 pm we head down to the little park for some much-needed exercise!