Limping To The Finish Line

A gruelling work week has mercifully come to an end, although I'll be working a good bit tomorrow, and travelling on Sunday. Yes, what an exciting weekend. At any rate, I'm ready for this wave of work to be over with so I can start focusing on other things. Like more work.

Anyway, here are a few pictures before I head out of town. Brenna likes looking at our pictures of family on the frig, and we are doing just that.

Memorial Weekend

So, it's nearly a week since I've last posted. Oopsie, time flies, doesn't it?

We've had a relaxing holiday weekend, thus far. On Saturday we cleaned our bedroom, bathroom, and part of our kitchen. We tried taking Brenna to the Apache Junction library, but they decided to close up shop for the entire three day weekend. We also took her to the new Multi-Generational Center that was opened a few years ago. For about forty dollars a month (if you pay for an entire year at one time), you have access to an indoor basketball court, indoor jogging track, exercise equipment, game room (pool table, etc), onsite childcare, rock climbing wall, etc. The key word in all of this is INDOORS. Not a bad price for staying in shape, and not having to do it in a 1000 degree garage. Something we'll ponder for this summer.

Today we went to church, had lunch with Brenna's grandparents, and lazed around the house the rest of the afternoon.

Here are a few shots of Brenna from today.

An upclose one, for starters. Any time the camera comes out, she now runs for it, so she can do the picture taking. Here she is in mid-run, heading right for me.





Here's one of her doing two of her favorite activities, coloring, and watching Mexican wrestling. What a combination, but no kidding, she still loves watching this DVD that I got at Bookmans about six months ago. Especially a part where the luchadors go to a nightclub where this, um, voluptuous woman is serenading the crowd through interpretive dance. Brenna will ask that we replay this part seven or eight times before she gets tired of it.

Interpretive Dance

Eventually I will go out to the garage and track down the software instructions for our camcorder, so I can resume uploading video of our daughter. We have some good clips of her dancing, which her all time favorite pastime, but for now, these pictures will have to do.

She has quite the collection of what she calls "tricky moves", here are a few of them.

1 - Mid-twirl windmill move - She's got the Pete Townsend guitar windmill move down to an art. Capturing that in a picture would be near impossible, but here is part of the hand movement

2 - Side-stepping - This one she perfected when she could barely walk, and she's fine-tuned it over the past year

3 - The Leg-Lift - Her current favorite that she likes showing off. There are numerous variations of this, including laying on the ground raising a leg up, sitting on the floor and lifting a leg up, you get the drift.

Tonight while Emily was in the bedroom, she actually did a split. The camera wasn't handy for that one, hopefully I'll catch it the next time she does it.

Weekend

Brenna enjoyed herself at the wedding we went to last night, and danced until the wee hours. There's a picture at the bottom of her sitting the grass, enjoying it all.

The first two pictures are of the two of us enjoying the Sunday comics this morning.

On The Run Again

So, here are a few shots of us going to see Brenna's favorite cousin Rachel performing in a school talent show.

This week was pretty much a blur. Tomorrow we're going to a family wedding in the far south valley, and we plan on slathering the anti-insect spray all over our arms and legs, as the mosquitoes are already getting bad here (which is odd, since it's rained exactly one time in the last three months). I'm on call for work Sunday afternoon, and will be working on Monday starting at midnight and plowing through a number of projects until 8 or 9 that morning when my regular shift starts. Should be a fun day, although really I'm looking forward to moving some folders off my desk and into the file cabinet. Monday will also clear the way for focusing on my upcoming trip to Columbia, South Carolina the first week in June. I'd like to say that trip will offer a nice break from our relentless heat, but it probably will be just as uncomfortable there as it is here. I recently found out about a new customer coming on board with us in September out of San Francisco, THAT will be a nice break from our summer.

But enough about me, how are you?

Perhaps more Brenna shots will come early next week from the wedding, and whatever we get into outside of that. Between now and mid-June, I expect that my posts will be fewer and farther between, for which I apologize.

While I'm gone, don't forget to periodically click on those annoying adds at the top of the blog. There have been some interesting ones lately. I don't know how anything I've mentioned here could possibly generate a singles ad. What's next, mail-order wives from Siberia? Stay tuned, I know I will be.

Think rain, and send it to the Southwest.

A Lounging Brenna

Not much new to share, especially in pictures. I'm just about tapped out there.

Here is one of Brenna lounging on the couch last weekend. She continues to enjoy helping me in the yard, and learned the artful skill of jumping with both feet off the deck onto the flagstone walk. Thankfully it's only a distance of probably six inches, but she rather enjoys this. She's also taken to some fancy dancing, including getting on her hands and feet and lifting one leg off the ground. I guess you'd have to be there to appreciate the balancing act.

Oh yes, and it's still hot, but that's nothing new. Stay tuned for continued belly-aching on my part about how dry it is. That should continue until around early July.

Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day here are a few new pictures of Brenna from today, hanging around the house, and posting with her mama and Grandma Becky.

Out In The Yard

Brenna loves the yard. She loves carrying the hose around behind me, watering anything she can point the hose at. She loves watering herself, particularly the front of her shirt and her shorts. She loves having water sprayed on her. She loves stomping around in the puddles. The girl loves her water, the sad irony of living in the desert.

At any rate, I asked her the other day to show me her butterfly shirt, and she struck a few poses for me. She's holding some bark in her hands in one of these, she was very fond of it for whatever reason.

She likes wearing her tube socks up to her knees, circa 80s style.

And finally, every photo session must end with the rabid Sean Penn shot. A classic.

Ice Cream

I haven't had many Brenna pictures to post lately, as she's been under the weather, but nothing makes you feel better than a bowl of ice cream, especially if it's eaten by hand. Hmm.

This Past Week (And Then Some)

What a fun week this has been. When we last left off (last Tuesday), I got slammed with lots of late night work, including being up until 2am on Thursday and then 4am on Friday. I thankfully got Friday off, only to come down with Brenna's stomach bug that night. Emily kept an eye on Brenna most of Saturday while I recovered, taking two (2 hour) naps and sleeping for over 10 hours that night. So far Emily has avoided the worst of the bug, and Brenna is completely over it, so goodbye and good riddance.

Here are some random pictures from the past few weeks that, until now, I've failed to pull off the camera.

I don't recall posting this one before, so let's pretend I haven't. This one is of Brenna and Emily going down the twisty slide at the zoo.

Here's our girl of leisure, enjoying her new tot seat that Emily bought at a neighbor's garage sale for a dollar.

Another random picture of Brenna, after asking Daddy to give her a beard like his. Spitting image, I should think.

And finally, enjoying Nacho Libre on her pink DVD player. Despite all of the lounging shots, our daughter actually gets plenty of outdoors time. Just today she spent the better part of the morning dragging a hose around the yard with me, watering, and helped me with some digging. She also helped me pick most of the calomondins off that tree (see the Hoes blog for pictures of our bounty).

Happy new week to you all!