Guess it is time

Playing Catch Up…

I guess I should probably play a little catch up with everything that has been going on in our lives. See, the problem is that I go do all these fun things and I forget to take pictures of everything. Then I am left here trying to explain all the incredible things we did. So, unfortunately I don’t have a ton of pictures of the last month and half, but I will post what we have.

We spent MLK weekend in California visiting Todd’s family. I wish we could get there more often. Any time we have a three day weekend, I try to give Todd first dibs on going to see his family before we make any plans. Anyways, we enjoyed that trip so much. The weather even cleared up enough for Debbie (my amazing, incredible Mother- In-Law) and me to walk around San Clemente’s farmer market on Sunday.

We found a cute little bakery and split a yummy cookies and cream cupcake.

We also got to meet one Todd’s best friends, Jason and his wife Kimi’s new little baby.  They did not disappoint. Little Luke was beyond perfect; they are two very talented baby makers. I think I could have cuddled him all day.  We went to Baby Gap to buy a little gift for them since we wanted to give them something when we were actually able to meet Luke. If I didn’t have baby fever already, walking around Baby Gap and seeing those cute clothes made it a million times worse.

March first I celebrated my, eeek, 25^th birthday! The only picture I have from that is of the birthday flowers my sister Laura got me.

 It really was a fun day though. Katie and Laura came to meet me for lunch; poor Katie only had enough time to buy me lunch and then she had to go back to work. I felt so bad she didn’t get to enjoy lunch with me. Laura brought me balloons and flowers. It was a great break to the work day. That night Todd, Laura and Katie all went to Kabuki with me for sushi.  That weekend we made an escape up to Three Sisters’ Lodge and spent a couple days relaxing. Most of the snow had melted, but we did find one hill where Todd and I tried to race up. How he was able to stop from sinking in the snow is beyond me. I just gave up and ended up crawling up the hill.

I call this "The Great Race"

We also celebrated the first game of Spring Training. That I do have a few pictures of and I think it is worthy of its own blog…I mean it is the Angels after all.

-Mrs.J

I am

How heavenly does that look? Can you believe this is located in Arizona? This is my parents' house sitting in the beautiful Hualapai Mountains (pronounced wall-ah-pie) in Northwest Arizona and it is one of my favorite places to escape to. We call it Three Sisters Lodge.

 When my family moved back to Arizona from Virginia, my parents had a hard time deciding where they wanted to live. They didn't have anything tying them to a certain place and while all their children were in Phoenix, it wasn't really where they wanted to live. They decided they would build their own little home up in the mountains outside of the town we lived in before moving, on a patch of land they had purchased a long time ago. Little did we know that it would turn into not only a favorite place our immediate family, but one of the best get aways for aunts, uncles and cousins.

My mom designed the whole house with family get-togethers in mind. We each have our own bedrooms and since she raised three girls, the bathroom is Jack and Jill style with two showers and toilets in separate rooms sharing one double sink area. This is perfect because the three girls can all being getting ready by the sink and mirror and Todd can still take a shower.

I seriously love this house. You get up in the mountain air and something in your just relaxes. All you can think about is sitting on the deck looking at deer, laying by the fireplace reading a book or siting by the fire pit outside and laughing with family. There are many times we don't even head down into town. The wild life up there is ridiculous; deer and elk are regular visitors.

They have a tendency to come right up to you and see if you have any tasty morsels you would like share. They also have a tendency to eat my mother's garden leading to Mama McLarty chasing them off with a hose!

I guess this is time I let in you in on a McLarty family secret...we are by today's family standards major weirdos. Why? Because my family goes beyond loving each other and actually likes each other; like we actually enjoying spending time together and call each other friends. This includes having impromptu jams sessions in the loft.

Bet you didn't know I played a mean bongo set and Todd was a pro on the tambourine. But really, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my family to death even if people think we are little bit on the strange side.

I was telling my mom the other day how much Three Sisters Lodge just feels like home. It is funny because even though I have never lived there, I still have it listed as "home" in my cell phone. I know I have my own house that is home, but I think it just goes to really show that home is where your family heart is.

I am off this afternoon to lovely Three Sisters Lodge to enjoy some Arizona snow and some relaxation.

Enjoy your weekend,

Mrs.J