Babies and Dogs

Hello all! Hope everything is going well back east. We are doing just fine. The weather is turning a bit cooler but still perfect. Sara and I get the luxury of having Monday off and plan to start (yep I said start) Christmas shopping. Tonight, Sara gets to don her bullet proof vest and head out into the field with some of the officers. She's hoping to show off her new take down moves!! Better them than us for a change. She's excited about going. Bill finished our new 4 poster bed. It is amazing!! You'll see it in some of the pictures. It is so tall that our nightstands look funny. Guess that will be his next project. Well, that and some steps so I can get into bed without having to get a running start. We got to see Catherine and the girls on Thursday! They are getting so big. We really enjoyed spending time with everyone. While you are reading this, the slide show has been playing. So, the order in which we made it will be off when you get to it. It is supposed to go babies then dogs, just FYI. Talk to you all soon!! AND...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Costume Party

Hello All. Last night was the costume party at Brian and Tym's. We had a lot of fun!! Everyone had great costumes. Wanted to share some pictures. If you look at them, let us know by commenting!! We like to hear from you and know you're seeing what we're up to in the Sunny Southwest. Talk to you soon. Miss and love you all!!
~Arizona Clan

A little Hello

Hello everyone! Hope all of you are doing well. It was GREAT to see you guys at the party when we came home a couple of weeks ago. You all look so good.
Not too much going on here. I made it through the 1st quarter at school. Have parent/teacher conferences this week. School is still going well.
Bill just keeps moving up that ladder at work. He now is the on-call back-up, the one the on-call guy refers to for help. So, he no longer has to go on-call every few weeks. He's quite thrilled about that. They are also training him for line maintenance, which is a move up too. And he still loves his job. His regional boss who had left a few months ago for another job has returned. He is really happy about that. They just treat him so well.
Sara had her defensive tactics training in Phoenix this past week. She passed!! She did really well and has the bruises to prove it. We're proud of her, but now she keeps trying to take us down!!
The weather is awesome right now. Next week it will be back in the 70's. This weekend we had a cool front blow through, and I mean BLOW through. It got so windy last night, the power went out. It is still windy today and quite cool. Makes for great football watching weather. Speaking of football, I am in 2nd place in my football pool. I think it irritates some of the guys that are in it. It's fun though!!
The girls are good. Angel got a hold of yet another tube of chapstick. I swear she can sniff those out a mile away. They really like the cooler temps. Gretta still suns on the patio, and Sadie sits in the breeze.
We have a Halloween party next weekend but not sure what we're all gonna be yet. Suggestions? Should be fun.
I got some cool news. Just wanted you all to know you're related to or friends with quite the prestigious gal. The Aquarius Hotel and Casino in Laughlin sent me a letter notifying me that due to my tracked gaming history, I now have my very own Executive Casino Host. That's right, my own personal Host. Her name is Tracy and she will do anything I ask (suites, shows, dining, etc.) while visiting the Hotel and Casino. I also no longer have to check-in with the common folk. I go to the Executive Guest Services for all of my check-in needs. I also am allowed to play in the VIP Players Lounge. That's right, touch me!! :) HA!
Mom and Dad, Bill's Christmas party is the 22nd while you are here. That really stinks!! But, we aren't going to stay the night so it will be just the evening. Also, there is golf outing that day. Dad, didn't know if you were planning on bringing the clubs like last year, but in case, Bill signed he and you up for it. Everything is in Laughlin at the Avi Resort and Casino. I guess the course is pretty nice. We'll talk more about it later.
Well, I better get some laundry done. We all love and miss you!
~Hollie

What the Kids Have Been Up To

Sunday Drive turns into Southwest Tour

Hello everyone. It's Labor Day. Hope you all are doing something fun. Well, yesterday we had quite a day. Sara and I had a Yahtzee marathon. We played around 30 games!! And for the first time in months, I am back on top. WooWoo!!! Then, we decided to finally head toward Oatman. It is a little town about 30 miles from here where wild burros roam the streets. It is called the Ghost Town that refuses to die. It is on historic Route 66. However, the last 10-12 miles there is called 'Bloody 66' because of how many people have died on it. Now we know why. Semis are not allowed to travel on it. The road is completely narrow, curvy, and there are NO guard rails protecting you from the plunge to death awaiting you. Needless to say it took a while to get there because we had to drive about 10 miles an hour. The scenery, though, was amazing, as usual. Oatman was fun. We had lunch, pet the burros, played tourists, and got our Christmas tree ornaments. Then we were off. Did we head for home? Nope. We kept on Historic 66. We ended up at Golden Shores. Nothing there. So, we got on the freeway (that's what we call it out here) and headed toward Parker by way of Lake Havasu City. Mom and Dad, we are going there. It is beautiful! Amazing dark, black mountains right in the water. Great looking golf courses, dad. I can't say as we actually made it into the town of Parker. You see, there is a casino right outside of town and we had to use the restroom REAL bad and didn't think we could make it any farther. We just HAD to stop and use the facilities. No alterior motives. It was simply beyond our control. But, since we were there, we figured, what the hell, right? When in Rome. It was fun. So, we left there about 7p.m. We had been gone since around noon and we knew our girls were starving and probably needed to pee themselves. It was about 1 1/2 hours home. We head out and man is it WINDY. The lightning is fierce but hypnotic to watch. It just streaks across the sky in every dirction all at once. You could tell one hell of a storm was up there. We never actually went through it, thank goodness. After passing numerous boaters pulled over on the side of the road due to the wind, we finally reached Lake Havasu. We drive through town and on up 12 miles. This is where we get back on the freeway to head east to Kingman. Now it's about 40 minutes to home. However, I-40 east is closed and evidently had been for some time because the truck stop there was PACKED to the gills. So, Sara and I head to investigate. It wasn't good. Yucca is a town about halfway between Lake Havasu and Kingman. There had been a horrible wreck there during the storm. It was at least a 10 car pile up, including a semi, and deaths had already been reported. The east bound lanes had been closed for 2 hours already and probably wouldn't be open for another 4 or so. How awful! And, if we hadn't gone to Parker, we could have possibly been driving through there right about then. Crazy, huh? So, the only other way to get home without waiting around for the road to open was to go back around to Bullhead City/Laughlin. This meant another 2 hours before we get home!!!!!!! Poor dogs!! So, 10:20p.m., we open the garage door and Gretta starts barking. They pottied forever in the yard when we got out there. It was quite the day. Oh, and we had a new friend on the patio when we got home. We have a Black Widow living on the back of our house. And Bill wouldn't kill it!!!!!!!! Love and Miss You all!!!!
~The Arizona Clan

Our Trip to Oatman

Our new site!!

Hi everyone!! We have an Arizona site so we can keep up with you better! We'll try to write often and post lots of pictures. We are all doing fine. School is back in session, Sara likes her new job and Bill is still our favorite cable guy! The girls (3 and 4 legged ones) are great. Sadie even lost almost 30 pounds! Showoff! Wish I could manage to do that and only worry about eating and sleeping! We'll be home soon for a long weekend to see Dad, the great Alaskan adventurer. See you all soon!

~Hollie, Bill, Sara (Sadie, Gretta, Angel)