Halloween

As promised, here are some pics from Halloween. We had a blast at the Bulmer's where we were surrounded by great friends, lots of food, lots of kiddos and even more candy! And thank goodness we were in the company of good friends because I wouldn't wear this costume in front of just anybody!



We were totally in character!



Sheri, Me, Robin and Michelle. Also pictured are Lucas, Michelle's youngest, as Bumblebee (the yellow Transformer), Freddie, Robin's youngest, as a skeleton and Jay, Robin's husband, as a pirate. Jay's costume was fantastic...right down to the wig. The funny thing is, Jay is bald and his hat didn't have a top. So from the back you could see his bald head and from the front it looked like he had a full head of hair!

Three things you should know from that night:
1) Preston does a mean Wii hulahoop, even in his overalls (Michelle has video evidence...that may appear in the blog one day...but I'm not making any promises).
2) The moomoo cost $10 and was immediately returned to Walmart the next day.
3) I have already told Preston....I get to be a princess next year.

Seriously?!?!?

This is what the temperature was in my car when I ran to Target on my lunch break! Yes...it is November. Yes...Thanksgiving is only two and a half weeks away. Yes...it is snowing in other parts of the country. Yes....people in other parts of the country are wearing comfy, warm sweaters and boots. Yes....ok, I think you get the idea.

I'm not bitter though...not one bit!

So what if this was RIGHT when I got in the car and the temperature eventually went down to 93. 93 is still too blazin' hot for November!

But like I said...I'm not bitter...not one bit.

Long Time No Blog

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! I know all of our faithful readers (all two of you) have just been waiting on pins and needles. Unfortunately this is going to be a short post. I am actually trying out blogging from my phone...so this is just a tester. I am hoping that the accessibility of being able to blog from my phone now will help with actually blogging. I knew I wouldn't be very good at this blogging thing in the first place so....anything to help! I will leave you with a little teaser that Halloween pics are soon to follow!

- Anna

Eat Your Heart Out Edward!

Mandy (my older sister) and most of her girlfriends (along with the rest of the world) have really gotten into the whole "Twilight" series. I keep up with some of Mandy's friend's blogs and I ran across this picture of my nephew, Drew, on Brooke's blog the other day.

Notice any resemblance?

Don't worry...I immediately texted Mandy and informed her that I need to be copied on emails that she sends to her friends that involve HILARIOUS pictures of my niece and nephew. She then called me and told me that she only sent it to Brooke, so that made me feel better. She also told me the story of how the picture came about: One night Josh (my brother-in-law) was putting gel in his hair and Drew asked if he could have some too. Josh proceeded to put gel in Drew's hair and tried to go for the "messy" look and what you see in the picture was the final product. Of course Mandy took immediate notice of the resemblance and after a little "ok, turn your head down, now look up at me with your eyes and do a little side grin" this was the end result! Isn't that hiarious? He is a natural, I must say! And I laughed out loud when I found this picture of Robert Pattinson!

Oh and a special thanks to Brooke because I stole the picture from her blog! I hope you don't mind!

Tidbit Tuesday - Junk in the Trunk

As I mentioned in my first post, Preston and I live 40 minutes from the U.S./Mexico border. The town we live in, Sahuarita, is located between the border and the metropolis of Tucson. Ok, so Tucson isn't a metropolis but it is the first city of notable size when traveling north from the border. As I also mentioned before, Preston works in Nogales, Mexico and I work in Tucson. Therefore, every morning, I drove north and Preston drives south on the major thoroughfare that is Highway 19.

As a side tidbit, I believe Highway 19 is the only highway in the United States that still has road signs in kilometers, which helps me...ummmm...none. The state of Arizona made this change during the "big push" for the metric system to be used in the U.S. I vaguely remember being told that if I didn't learn conversions and the metric system I wouldn't be able to function as an adult. So as much as I would like to admit they were wrong, knowing the metric system might come in handy whilst traveling on Highway 19. But I digress, on to the real tidbit.

So as you can imagine, Preston and I see some pretty interesting happenings while traveling to and from work. Preston, obviously, witnesses A LOT more than I do seeing as he actually crosses the border every day (hmmmm....I believe I just discovered another subject matter for Tidbit Tuesdays). But one thing I probably see more than Preston does is something I have dubbed "Junk in the Trunk." Clever...I know. Which brings me to the above photo. This is something I see, almost on a daily basis, when I am headed home (south) after work. And let me tell you....those Mexicans know how to pack a truck! From what Preston has told me, it is cheaper for Mexicans to buy things in the United States than it is Mexico. That totally contradicts my thinking and so many theories but Preston would definitely know better than I on this subject matter. So apparently they load up in the U.S. and take all of it back home to Mexico. The unfortunate part is this guy had to unload all of this mess at the border for them to inspect and then reload it again. Preston and I joke that there has to be a Mexican guy some where in Tucson who is the "professional truck packer." We've even teased about said trucker packer's marketing slogans: "Got enough stuff to fill an 18 wheeler but all you have is an old Ford pickup? Come visit Pedro, the Professional Truck Packer!"

If there is a Pedro out there he should be making the big bucks because I consider THIS

an art form, my friends.

Congrats!!!

Congratulations to Chris and Millie on their engagement!! They are both amazing people and we are so excited to see what God has prepared for them as husband and wife!

*Just as a side: My family is super excited because we think Millie McAlilly is the cutest name EVA!*

Tidbit Tuesday

Since our blog is titled "The State We're In," I have decided to start "Tidbit Tuesdays" where every Tuesday (ok, maybe not EVERY Tuesday) I will post something really interesting (ok, maybe not REALLY interesting) about Arizona or the area we live in. This is also an attempt to get in some form of a routine with this blogging thing.

So here is the first "tidbit." This is an interview that aired on ABC Nightline which features the town and neighborhood Preston and I live in. This is the scenery we see everyday, the grocery store we shop in, the restaurants we eat in, the pools we swim, the sidewalks we walk on....you get the point.

Before you view the video there are a couple of things I would like to point out:

1) At the very beginning, the shot of the street AFTER the shot of the lady with the stroller is actually our street.

2) If you notice an unusual amount of senior citizens in the shots of the restaurant, this is because there IS an unusual amount of senior citizens in the area we live in. The town of Sahuarita is right next to the town of Green Valley which is a retirement community. This makes for not only interesting driving situations but also interesting run-ins in Walmart on your first full day of living Arizona which, to you, might as well be a foreign country at that point! But that was three years ago and I am obviously over it.

3) Yes, there is a lake with trees and grass. None of it is natural, it is all man-made but this has been somewhat of a "saving grace" for me, Preston and even Lottie. We love walking around the lake and Lottie LOVES to go swimming. It's like our own little oasis in the desert!

4) Yes, there is a small water park in our neighborhood with a huge bucket that dumps water on you. There is really a small train for the kids to ride on, along with a small put-put course, game rooms, basketball & tennis courts, baseball & soccer fields, a skate park, a gym and miles of sidewalks! As you can tell, Sahaurita is quite the opposite of Green Valley. It is an excellent place for young families with children.

So without further adieu click here for you viewing pleasure! Enjoy!!