Deja vu all over again

Round 2 of wonderful homecoming celebrations, and I'm not talking high school dances.

After 2 long years spent in Japan, Zach is finally home again and we're pretty happy about it.


Proud Ma and Pa

Happy sibs, too






Along with several very excited, not to mention creative, nieces and nephews




Here's Zach using a "Smart Board" to draw the island of Japan

He's ba-ack...and we couldn't be happier!

Home at last!!!

Homecoming Retrospective


















Just previewed and realized I've posted huge pictures, but face it, it was a BIG DEAL!

Let's Party (progressive style)

Picking up a loved one at the airport is so worth the freeway hassles, the parking fees and the w-a-i-t-i-n-g!

First stop: Pittsburgh

After her year abroad in the world, Kelsey finally returned!
When she finally did arrive, we were SO excited. Just check out these anticipatory faces...





Some of us were more excited than others.


Kelsey had jet lag, but what was Levy's excuse?


Priorities, people. And by that, I mean food.

Good food. Food is love.

And do we enjoy expressing our love!






What a delicious language. Yummmmmm

Next stop: Sky Harbor and home

Welcome Back K*****

It's finally happened.

Kelsey's home again.

And for some reason, I can't stop humming the Welcome Back Kotter theme song...

Change the inner city scenes (substitute Queen Creek)and the male pronouns and I think my subconscious, sitcom analogous mind is pretty spot-on.

let me know what you think.

PS Not sure what it means, but KELSEY has the same number of letters as KOTTER. Again, something to think about

Let your fingers do the walking

I received a donation request in the mail last week for breast cancer research. The cause is dear to my heart since my sister passed away from breast cancer last year so I felt very comfortable making a donation.

The enclosed mailer looked official and the process was quite simple but the company name wasn't familiar to me so before sending off my check I decided to do a bit of research...

I found a great website that rates charities:



While I wasn't familiar with this particular fundraiser, Charity Navigator was.

The company that contacted me was rated 1 star out of 5! The money they raised just basically went to cover fundraising and salaries - NOT what I wanted to support.

Bottom line: Do your research before putting your money where your heart is. Not all requests for donations, subscriptions, etc, are equal.

As for me, I'm donating to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure - the organization my sister was involved with.

Where In The World Will Elder Briggs Go?

My nephew, Tyler, opened his mission call during a family dinner last night.

Each guest had to fill out a slip of paper guessing where he be call to serve and pin it on the world map. Only one person guessed the closest (and it wasn't me).


He's going to........... Washington, Spokane mission!

Bob and Matthew both served in Washington so they're really excited.

He received his call earlier in the week but had made the decision at the time he sent in his papers that he would wait til all the family and friends were gathered together before opening it... to prevent caving into temptation, he had his dad lock it in a safe until Sunday!

Great evening for all of us.

Thanks Tyler - you are a great guy and will be a fabulous missionary!

Happy Pioneer Day!

It seems a bit anticlimactic to celebrate the 24th of July today since we had a whopper of a celebration last weekend.

We went to Snowflake for our family's annual 24th of July camp-out/celebration. For some obscure reason (to me, anyway), pioneer-settled Snowflake held the event on the 16th-17th. So, we honored our ancestors with a parade, rodeo, great food and fun one week early.

Sat morning, David, Buffie and Ben ran the 10k race. David opted at the last minute to ditch the pioneer clothing and decided to run in regular shorts, instead. I think he just wanted to make it more of a challenge for himself since he's become such a pro at this racing stuff.

We told him that he could wear his pioneer togs for the rest of the day. And he said that would be too embarrassing. Leisel quickly shot back, "Oh, you'd wear them while you raced with strangers, but it would be too embarrassing to wear them around people you know?!" I would loved to have seen the outfit in any of the settings, but it was not to be. Buffie won 1st place in the women's age 30-39 division - way to go!

The parade was a blast - literally. We had prime location seats for the mother of all water fights. We'll remember that parade for a very long time!



The property was so green and beautiful. Every time I go I never want to leave.



There was something for everybody - little AND big kids! I'm not sure which group had more fun...







Lunch was followed by a thunderstorm complete with hail and heavy rain.

Elli wouldn't leave her beloved dog alone in the rain so they took shelter under the picnic table for the duration of the storm.



The rest of us either huddled in the truck down in the meadow or hiked up the hill to the neighbor's huge tin shed and moved the party indoors.


We've got this party stuff down to a science now- everybody jumps right in with meal assignments and prep to clean up. That sure makes it fun for all of us - a huge thank you daughters/daughter in laws!!




We've come to love this annual outing and all the fun it brings. I wish I'd taken pictures of all the things we did, from the movie night to the rodeo and fireworks. Camping out has evolved into "camping" all over Ben and Donna's house. Sadly, July is a very wet month in the white mountains. But this has become a great time for more togetherness, more cousin time and more memories.

We SO-O-O missed all the family who couldn't join us. I think we were missing more than half of us. Hopefully, next year's celebration can include you, too - clear your calendars now!

Thank you, Ben and Donna, for hosting such a great party and we'll see you all next year!

Can I get out of time-out now? and other deep thoughts

I'm sorry. I'm over my tantrum and promise to behave better for the rest of the day.

I must recant my previous rant/post.

The house is fine.

It isn't "small", it's just smaller than the home we moved from. We were spread out over 4100 sq.ft and now we're adjusting to 2400 sq. ft (which is twice as big as our first home in Gilbert!. I really have nothing to complain about.

So the truth is once again...

It's not the house. It's me.

But that's ok because..."I'm good enough, smart enough, and - doggone it - people like me!"

So what you're trying to say is...

I've tried. I really have.

But reality has crashed into and burned my positive spin.

This House Is SMALL!

I know I'll feel more optimistic in the morning but tonight
I say, "screw Pollyanna".



I feel a little bit better now. That's good since there's no room for me to feel more than just a bit of anything.

And with this fun pity party in full swing, I'll just send myself to time-out 'til I can, in the words of Atticus, "stop doing that attitude".

baby steps to the elevator... AHHHH!!!!!!!

missing in action

I've fallen off the blogging radar for the past month or so but I have a note from my mother so please excuse this absence.

There's an old adage that I'm clinging to - A change is as good as a rest. Well, we're in for a big change that I hope will lead to a rest that gives me back my life.



We're moving to a smaller home without any stairs!!! The stairs angle just makes me smile. I've decided I HATE STAIRS. So I'm planning on beginning a love affair with our new flat home.

But like any relationship that's about to change, I'm sad to say goodbye to our lovely home. It's been such a fantastic home and great party central for our big family.

Dear home, it's not your fault that you're so multi-leveled & I'm climbing challenged.

It's just not working out anymore.

I'm sorry.

It's not you, it's me.