Thanksgiving and Lera's 24th Birthday

This past Thanksgiving weekend Lera and I were planning on staying at our home in Buckeye, AZ. We were going to have friends and family come over for a big thanksgiving feast. Plans change quickly though in our home. On Tuesday, we decided that we were going to drive across the Southwest and head to Amarillo to be with the Danley’s.

Lera and I left Wednesday afternoon along with my cousin Christina and her ferret Batman. Due to the awful traffic leaving Phoenix, it took us about 9 hours to get to Albuquerque, NM. We stayed the night there and left first thing in the morning. We finally arrived in Amarillo, TX just in time for Jeanette and Julie’s amazing Thanksgiving dinner! There were many Danley’s and we were all so happy to be there. The drive was well worth it as soon as we walked into the front door and saw everyone.

Days and nights were filled with laughter and excitement. We played Scrabble, Mexican Train Domino’s, P.I.T., and horseshoe. It was a quick trip but we all made the most of every waking moment. After the amazing Thanksgiving meal, we all rested and continued nibbling on the leftovers for a few more days.

Friday was Lera’s birthday and it was so special to be with her family on her big day. I think we sang “Happy Birthday” to her about 17 times. For lunch we went to our favorite local spot “Doug Henks” for their famous Frito Pies. Lera is now officially 24 years old and this was her first birthday as a married woman!

We had a long drive home and made the most of it stopping as often as possible. Texas and New Mexico were gorgeous and we look forward to our next trip to Aa-murr-i-la.

Founder's Day 2007

Oh, we Danley's are so clever.

As I found our blog today, this very day of November 3rd, 2007, today in Verrado (verrado.com) is Founder's Day. Verrado was founded in 2002. This is the much anticipated 5 year anniversary weekend. Today AJ & I will discover what this means. I hope that I find out why Verrado was founded, but never established as a township or anything. I thought I was moving up in the world, until I discovered that my address would still read as: Buckeye, Arizona 85396. Not that there's anything wrong with Buckeye.

Founder's Day will be full of festivities. AJ has been looking forward to this day for months. This morning, he actually rolled over and said, "Happy Founder's Day!" I told him he'd never even said "Happy Halloween" earlier this week, but for some strange reason, this event held more merit in his eyes. AJ is excited about the concert, the day of celebration, and the thought of spending some good old-fashioned community time with our neighbors. Blues Traveler will be performing a free concert (well, free to us, not the "township") and our Main Street Town Square has been completely transformed. There will be food stands, beer gardens, a talent show, and more people than I ever wanted to see in one small town garden.

But, I will enjoy this day that AJ has been long awaiting, but I think that I will savor even more the fact that I finally joined the family blogging club. And now we can continue to share... Moore fun for everyone.