So this Christmas we are in California. It sounds like it is going to rain most of the time which is a nice change. As much as we love Alamogordo, being outside in flip flops and a short sleeve shirt on Christmas day just doesn't seem quite right. We don't have snow here... yet- though there is a small possibility for a White Christmas. But it's been fun to be around lots of trees, rolling hills and winding roads. There's something about seeing a moss covered wet oak tree in the morning fog on the hillside that is comforting.
The best part of the trip however is having the entire family here. Already there has been plenty of fun- games, chit-chatting, and funny kid incidents-like 3 year old Skylar ratting out her dad saying her ate all the donuts, or her telling me that her dad doesn't wear nail polish but that Grandpa and Uncle Stick do. Fun, lots of fun.
More stories and picture will be forthcoming.

Bubba Clause

So I know we haven't posted anything in quite some time- we haven't hardly been home. For now I'm just gonna put up a little something we ran across while working on a project. We'll post a little something more shortly. Enoy!

MEMO FROM SANTA
I regret to inform you that effective immediately, I will no longer be able to service the Southern United States on Christmas Eve. Due to overwhelming current population of the earth, I I now serve only the northern United States.. However, I'm certain that your children will be in good hands with your local replacement who happens to be my brother in law,. Bubba Claus. His side of the family is from the South pole. He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls; however, there are a few differences between us. Differences such as:

1. There is no danger of a Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker that reads: "Gun Control is a Steady Hand."

2. Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave a RC Cola and peanut patty (or a moon pie) on the fireplace. And Bubba doesn't smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an empty spit can handy.

3. Bubba Claus' sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flyin' coon dogs instead of reindeer. I made the mistake of loaning him a couple of my reindeer one time, and Blitzen's head now overlooks Bubba's fireplace.

4. You won't hear "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen..." when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead you'll hear, "On Earnhardt, on Wallace, on Martin and LaBonte. On Rudd, on Jarrett, on Elliot and Petty."

5. "Ho, ho, ho!" has been replaced by "Yee Haw!" And you also are likely to hear Bubba's elves reply, "I her'd dat!"

6. Bubba's sleigh also has a bumper sticker that reads "My Other Car is a John Deere" .

7. The interior of Bubba's sleigh is the envy of the south. It boasts the latest in 8 track technology, a top o' the line fuzzbuster, an oversized chrome foot shaped gas pedal, fully carpeted dash, and Yosemite Sam floormats.

8. Bubba Claus doesn't wear a belt. If I were you, I'd make sure you, the wife, and the kids turn the other way when he bends over to put presents under the tree.

9. Bubba Claus refuses to wear the standard issue Santa cap because he says it makes him look like a girly-boy. He has been granted permission to wear a white Stetson with a red band and black cowboy boots instead.

Sincerely Yours, Santa Claus

Kara-Kum

So our new cat is no longer nameless... In keeping with the tradition of naming our animals after deserts (how this got started I'm not sure) her name is Kara-Kum. Kara-Kum is a desert in Turkmenistan and while technically it means black sand- which obviously does not describe her coloring or personality- it was still an interesting name. Funny, Matt is incredibly picky about baby names but he likes the most interesting names for animals.

For those interested in the desert names
Sahara- our first kitty
Gobi- our Beta
Kali (short for Kalahari)- our former puppy :(

Our sweet Sahara

OK so the pic below of Sahara, while funny, is not of her actually growling at the other cat. Although tonight we've heard many strange new noises comming from her- and her feelings about this addition are quite obvious. Normally she's very sweet, so here is a nicer picture of her. And yes she lays in crazy positions like this- if there is anything for her to lay on, especially shoes, she will lay on that rather than just on the ground. She's a funny little thing.

A friend for Sahara... maybe

So today after work I decided to make a quick stop at the animal shelter, well it ended up not being so quick and I came home with another cat. She was supposed to be put down yesterday but they forgot her. Several of the animal control officers made comments about her being a lucky cat. So far Sahara does NOT like her, but we'll give it a couple of weeks to see if she comes around. But for now, Sahara sticks to the tops of the cupboards, while the nameless cat wanders happily around the house.

Our first one...

Well, this is our first blog... and here we are kicking back on Ray & Saundra's couch. I was showing Saundra how to check out the family blog sites. She asked if we had one and of course we did not so we decided to create one :)

This weekend we decided to squeeze in one last camping trip for the season. Friday, after work, we headed out to Oliver Lee State Park. The weather was perfect, it was quiet, and the sunset was amazing!!! It was great!

Saturday night I (Denise) had the wonderful opportunity to watch the General Relief Society Broadcast. All of the talks were great. One of my favorite points in the broadcast is when President Uchtdorf was talking about being more creative. There are so many talents and gifts that every one of us have been blessed with, but sometimes we don't recognize them and we think we may be lacking in that department because we can't sing or draw or play the piano or some other obvious (but still wonderful) talent/gift. And as he also stated we need to look beyond the canvas and the piano keys, and learn to see the great variety of gifts and talents we have been blessed with and that we can develop. And I absolutely love the simple yet profound suggestion that he made to see how many smiles you can create in a single day. Wow! Can you imagine the blessings that would come into our lives and the lives of everyone else when we simply give people something to smile about.

Well, that's it for today- unless Matt wants to add anything else- "no". So with that- good night!