School this semester has been very busy and tough.....so I couldn't wait for finals to be over. When the opportunity came for me to take a trip out to Phoenix to visit Britt, I was so excited! I left the weekend after finishing finals and came back the next weekend before Christmas. It was a quick trip, but filled with fun and relaxation from school and work. The evening I left was a very foggy, rainy day and my plane was delayed over 2 hours due to the weather. It was tiring for me, and late for Britt to pick me up, but her sweet Dad came with her to get me. Her son Cody was a sweetheart and gave up his room for the week and also stocked his small fridge with my favorite drinks~Diet Dr. Pepper~I felt very welcome, comfortable and right at home! I loved meeting her kids and family~they all welcomed me into their home. We did some digital scrapbooking~Britt helped me learn lots of new things......We went to the Mesa Temple Lights on Monday evening. It was beautiful to see all the lights and the nativities from around the world that was in the visitor's center. There were also outdoor Nativities that were just incredible, the pool of water was beautiful with the way the lights hit it and a choir also performed Christmas music. I loved the 3 Wise Men and the camels. 
The next day, we had lunch with several of the "Chicks" at the best taco place ever! I will definitely want to go back to El Ricos on my next trip. It was great to be with all the ladies again, they are just awesome! Then we went to get pedicures and I still have my snowflakes on my toes~they are so cute! Britt and I had lots of fun Christmas shopping, we went to a local boutique where I found Morgan some great jewelry and a purse for Christmas. One afternoon, we met Monica at Deseret Book and then went for yogurt at her favorite yogurt place~yummy!
One night, we went to a "Rockin Christmas Concert" with the Wilson's, Britt's parents and her brother and his wife. They are all lots of fun and I loved going with them. We had fun dancing along and getting into the Christmas spirit. Alan (Deneen's husband) wore his Dr. Suess Christmas hat with Christmas lights on it.....he was so funny and kept me laughing all night. He took us to the most awesome pizza place that had the best White Sauce pizza I have ever eaten! The owners are from New York and they definitely know how to do pizza.
On my last night there, several ladies from the cruise stopped by to see me. I got to see Suzy and Mercedes! Amy and Monica came by also and Deneen lives right across the street (so I was lucky and got to see her each day!) It was like being back on the cruise.....I loved that they all lived so close and were able to stop by! Such fun and amazing ladies!! I wish they all lived close to me......I would want to play and visit with them all the time!
My last morning we went out to take pictures with a Saguaro Cactus, I couldn't leave AZ without a famous picture with a cactus! We also stopped by her parents house to tell them goodbye~they are wonderful, it was great to finally meet her Mom. It was a wonderful week! Thanks Britt and your family for hosting me! Ya'll are AWESOME!
Grandma Pruitt is 90! We had her a surprise party at our house the day after Thanksgiving. Her daughter Kathy's husband Hank and his band played for us~they were awesome! It was a fun evening full of music, dancing, laughter, family and friends. Everyone had a wonderful time.
As most of you know, we moved out in the country this last year on quite a bit of property with a pond and a big Red Barn, so I guess having roosters are fitting......This is actually Scott's latest amusement......or as he calls it~our alarm clock....an early morning alarm clock! We started out with 5 roosters and lots of guineas and now only have "Big Red" left. He has such a personality....I never knew roosters did, but he will come roost on our top step at our back door when it's raining or storming and when we go out there, he will put his head down pleading with us not to make him move. He is really quite funny. After the other roosters went missing, he was sad and would not crow in the mornings, but after Aunt Sherrie's visit loving on him, he now crows each morning promptly at daylight.......he is not as loud as the other ones were, and most of the times I just sleep through it.
We also have some Canadian Geese that stop by and visit our pond. They are very beautiful and very loud! We only have one good picture of them, but several pictures of our beautiful trees with their leaves changing color to an incredible red. There is so much beauty all around us, sometimes I have to remember that when I'm missing the conveniences of the city.
