Cochise Again

We had a few weeks of gorgeous weather and decided to go camping...

When we got to Cochise, it was freezing and exremely windy. 

We did some climbing and chilling. 

Valentines Dinner

It's been a long time since we posted.

This is what we had on VDay, our 9th one together.

Pan seared U10 scallops with a Blood Orange-Malbec Gastrique. 

Roasted Butternut cup filled with Fontina Bacon Risotto finished with Yam Gaufrette Frittes.

We scraped dinner into the blender and drank it.

We don't eat solid food after getting this beast.

Brownie in the style.

Our original common ground.

Our January Christmas

The Kennedy family had a late Christmas when EVERYONE got together in Columbia for the first time in years. It was a fun-filled week with cooking, eating, present opening, singing, and playing.  It was so amazing to see everyone in one place! I loved watching the kids play and open their gifts. It was wonderful too that Grandma and Grandpa Kennedy came for "Christmas" and Kathy, Mike, Caleb, and Kelci drove in for dinner too. Take a look at our plethora of pictures!

Ellie couldn't wait to open presents! :)

 
Myra in her new hat :)

Mia loves reading!

 This version of Amazing Grace was arranged by one of Josh's friends. It was great to sing!

We also celebrated birthdays and here is Ellie and Mia eating the teal-frosted cake.

 We did some top rope climbing at Capen Park. It was a perfect day for it too... in the 60's. After climbing we drove in to St. Louis and it snowed 2 inches that night. 

 Tommy took advantage of the snow. He didn't have his boots with him. so we covered his feet in plastic bags. It worked pretty well :)

In St. Louis, we stayed with Elizabeth's parents and they were so great! They cooked us dinner and provided us with beds :) The next day we waited for the snow to melt a little before heading to the City Museum in St. Louis. These pictures don't do it justice. An artist/architect named Bob Cassilly (who recently passed away) designed this amazing indoor art installation/playhouse. All the materials are recycled from around St. Louis, such as the conveyor belt rolls, broken ceramic tiles, pilars, glass bottles... It was built in an old shoe warehouse that is HUGE!  The roof as a huge slide and a school bus but it was closed till the weather warmed up. It was amazing to play like a kid!

Behind dad, the wall is made of 1/3 pans from commercial kitchens. 

The railings are made of painted conveyor belt rolls. 

 This is like a human-sized hamster wheel!

 These are all steel rods that have been rounded to form a slinky-like structure for you to climb in. Dad played too :)

 Elizabeth and her debut as a magician.

This is a massive tree house!

 There was a 10 story slide!! It was amazing!

Can you tell which picture is right? :)

There were caves and tunnels everywhere!Some of which I could fit through and some I would have been stuck in.

 A little acro in the City Museum. If you look closely, the ceiling is full of pieces of silk that have each been cut and placed up there. 

After the City Museum we drove to my cousin Kenny's house and helped unload a truck full of furniture and got to see Dee and Bob and Jack, Max, and Sam too! It was a nice surprise :)

All in all, the trip was magnificent. We returned to Tucson refreshed and ready to take on life again. 

"You don't stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing."

~George Bernard Shaw

Home for the Holidays

 Emily and I have a hard time being away from family and friends during the holidays, but we try to make the most we can out of what we have and get some traditions going for Tucson Christmas.

Most important is Barley's Santa hat. He has to wear this nonstop until Jan. 6th, when the wise men tell him it's no longer hat season.

It has been cold out here! There's already 4 feet of snow at the local ski resort -- not that you'll find us there... His and hers Mexican hot chocolate latte with marshmallows!!

I'd imagine that most people reading this blog already know that Em is an amazing woman, but in case you needed further proof: stockings hung with care, lights and boughs on the mantle, fire in the fire place, living tree with ornaments dating back to 1988, and litlle touches that boggle the male brain while warming his heart.

"Take care of yourselves, and each other," Jerry Springer.

Barley the turtle

Once again, Barley is a very patient dog :)

Slow and steady wins the race! :) I can't wait to parade him around the neighborhood to embarrass him in front of his friends :)

Our Trek Through Texas

Well, we recently returned from a 1 week adventure through the Southwest.  We drove into Texas to see Mary and Michael in Del Rio and Sarah, Dom, and Mia in Houston.  The driving a little excessive, but it was worth it to see the family! :)

Our first stop was in Del Rio, TX, where Mary and Michael were fabulous hosts.  We traveled around the city and saw the Del Rio sights.  We also experienced Lake Amistad and it was a blast! Barley was unsure at first, but with some coaxing he managed a little swimming. 

We also ate at some cute local spots around town, including Memo's. We had some fun and did some acro in the grass outside of Memo's, and when we went inside, the patrons gave us a round of applause for our performance (we didn't know they were watching... or could even see us!)

Tommy got into the Texas spirit and almost walked out of the store with the lasso :) See for yourself how good he is with the lasso.

 

 



Thank you Mary and Michael for a great trip!! :) You guys were great hosts and we had a blast in your small world of Del Rio! :)

After Del Rio, it was on to Houston for some more family visits.  When we arrived, Mia was VERY excited to see Barley! He was pretty excited too, at first, but eventually I think her constant "Doggie!"-ing got to him.  Our entire visit, he was very patient with Mia, which was very comforting :)

 Our first morning was spent at the Houston Zoo. It was fairly big but very well-kept! Here's a shot Tommy took of a jaguar mid-jump.

 









Tommy and I went to the climbing gym in Houston. It was pretty nice, but we are very spoiled at Rocks and Ropes in Tucson.

 Sarah made me a birthday cake. It was not just ANY birthday cake, but a Kennedy favorite... chocolate parfait cake! It was bowl-lickin' good!

Then it was off to Galveston. Barley loves the ocean!

 A little ocean yoga :)

Mia loves her uncle Tommy!

She loves him so much that she feeds him bagel chips without him even asking!

And then she stuffs them in his mouth until he can't fit anymore :)

 Sarah and Dom have these great bamboo floors but are too soft to withstand Barley's claws, so we bought him booties to wear around the house.  He actually did a great job with them! This is the face he gives me when he's practicing being patient and wants to be reassured that he's a good boy.

Thank you Sarah, Dom, and Mia for an awesome time in Houston! It was so much fun to watch Mia and Barley together! 

 What a trip! Barley was worn out by the end f it and slept for the entire 17 hour drive home. Though we decided to split the drive into two days. As we arrived in El Paso to spend the night, out poor car couldn't take the 90 mph driving anymore and overheated.  We added coolant and made it home the next day, though our head gasket was mis-shaped and it turned into an expensive repair... At least we made it back!

 Even God is bigger in Texas!

Yay! Alternative energy! There are quite a few windmills along the interstate in Texas.










"Clearly, we need more incentives to quickly increase the use of wind and solar power; they will cut costs, increase our energy independence and our national security and reduce the consequences of global warming."
~Hillary Rodham Clinton