Party at Grandma's House

On Sunday, December 22nd, several of us surprised Grandma with a visit.  Daniel, Jana and their girls arrived first.  Grandma quickly put Daniel to work to try to figure out why her kitchen sink was leaking.  Brent, Grant & I arrived next with dinner.  We brought bacon ranch taquitos, mini-chicken chimichangas, refried beans, chips, nacho cheese sauce and more.  Joe arrived next.  Kami and their kiddos stayed in Mesa to prepare for their trip back to Safford.  Last, but not least, Julie, Jordan and Maeleigh arrived.  They brought a yummy lemon cake.
After the complications of dinner preparations were resolved, we ate and ate and ate.  Heidi must have been starving last night because she wanted seconds, thirds and fourths.  Too bad she was allowed to have more.  Diabetes sucks!  With our bellies filled, the REAL moment of why we surprised Grandma arrived.

We presented her with a homemade card that told her that Santa realized that she had been extra good this year and needed an extra nice gift.  When she opened the card, there were pictures of all of the little elves (grandkids) that donated to her gift.  She read the inside of the card which stated that we knew she was having a tough time with housecleaning because of her illness and being out of breath all of the time.  We told her that we lived too far away to volunteer to do it for her so we all pitched in to have it paid for.  I don't thik she processed what was written in the card.  Then she opened the elf covered envelope and found several hundred dollars.  Then it sunk in.  She was so very grateful for the help we were able to put together for her.

Thank you to everyone who contributed!  Grandma won't have to worry about her home being clean for several months!

Daniel & Jana had to take off after sampling Julie's lemon cake.  They missed out on our Gingerbread House making contest.  Maybe they can check out our pictures and tell us who really won.  Here are the choices:

 The Brent & Haley House

 Brent did the construction.

 Haley did the decorating until Brent took over and added icicles and a chimney.

Julie, Jordan and Maeleigh created the A-Frame house.

 Jordan did most of the construction of the home plus he is responsible for the candy cane on the roof.

 Julie did all of the landscaping around the house.  The Hershey's Kisses in front of the home are a representation of their family.

Joe had to build and decorate his house all by himself. 

Notice the intricate pattern of candies that line the roof.  These details can't be ignored as you judge these selections.

 The final Gingerbread House making team was Grant & Grandma.  (Technically, Max was on their team too.  He never left their side.)

They designed a gingerbread outhouse.

 Grant too his time adding shrubs on both sides of the door to the outhouse.  Candy canes are on both sides of the house to help it smell better.

I'm not sure what is on the back of the house but Grandma carefully arranged the Hershey's Kisses to sit on top of a KitKat bar.  I will have to ask her what they symbolize.

After the Gingerbread Houses were made, we drove all four of them to Chandler.  They are on our dessert table.  So if you stop by our house on Christmas Day, you will be able to check them out in person.  

Merry Christmas Grandma!  We love you!

It's Time for Family Pictures (AGAIN!)

Our family photo session started with technical difficulties.  The lighting wasn't right, the angle of the camera wasn't right, the phone kept ringing, and the list goes on.  Mitchell and Grant stayed entertained while they waited.

 

 This angle worked out best for us.  We couldn't get Grey to smile but Max was glad he made into the family picture.

Our 2nd set of shots were on the side of the staircase.  Grant and Perry were an important part of getting the angle of the camera ready.  

We don't think this turned out too good.  It's just not very balanced.

By the time we took the photos from this direction, we were all annoyed.  We have HUGE shadows from our light source.  Grey looks very irritated.

Mitchell got his sweet baby girl smiling again.  He knows just what to do to get her to laugh.

 One attempt at a family photo.  

This family photo turned out AWESOME!

 Brent, Max and I...

Grant & Mitchell refused to look like they liked each other in their picture.  I guess this will have to do :)

Lots to be Thankful for

The Robles family Thanksgiving celebration happened at Mom's house in Kingman.  Michael devoted all of his spare time over the last few months to installing doors, installing bathrooms, installing carpet, and fixing other things so the house would be ready for the big crowd.  It looked awesome!  Thank you Michael for working so hard to have the house ready for this special Thanksgiving.

 I almost had to bribe Michael to get his picture taken with Daniel.  Does Daniel smell bad?

 Brent & Colby are now BFF's.  From the time we arrived at Mom's house until it was dark the following night, these two guys were riding or working on motorcycles.

 Cute Carlie!  She is ready for a Thanksgiving feast!

 ALL of the little kids lived on the trampoline.  They spent hours jumping, running and singing out here.

 Cyrene is playing "crack the egg."

 It looks like Taylor and Calvin were able to "crack" her open.

 Jana & Amy, hot Mamas in the kitchen!

 Macy models here fall look.

 My birthday buddy, Shelby, and her big sis.  I don't think either of them are thrilled that they are being photographed by their silly aunt!

 David's quad is being driven by Cayden.  Camber is on back holding on for her life.  

 Bearett and Aunt Brenda watch all the guys ride dirt bikes and the quad.

 Ember has arrived to the party!

 Nancy is so brave!  She willingly let Brandon speed up and down the dirt road while barely hanging on to the back.  She is a trooper!

 Best friends:  Taylor and Presley.  They really wanted to go inside the chicken coup and play with the chickens.  I told them to find some crickets and feed them to the chickens.  I don't think they ever found one.

 Payten loves babies and puppies.  If she wasn't holding on to Max, she willing held on to baby Eden.  She could just sit four hours tending to her.  

 The food is ready!  We had turkey, ham, homemade rolls, incredible mashed potatoes, creamed corn, green bean casserole, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing and more that I'm probably forgetting.  We had 20 pies for dessert!  Heaven! 

 Camber spent the night in Mom's new office room.  It looks like Presley, Heidi, Taylor, Andrew and Payten aren't going to let her get any sleep.

 Guy talk on this side of the room. (Brent, Brandon & Daniel)

 Girl talk on the next sofa over.  (Jana, Aunt Brenda, Nancy, Mom & Sarah)

 On Friday we went to a little place behind Michael's house to shoot guns.  Colby has a great shot.

 Joseph and Joe are aiming for the same target.  Guess who hit it?

 Our ammo reloading station.

 I don't mind shooting our little 22 handgun.  I couldn't hit my target, but I think I might have been close.

 Cayden is serious about his shot.  Maybe I should try his style.

 Joshua anxiously waited for his turn.  He knows how to aim.

 Even Camber hit her target.  I really need to practice!

 Some of the little guys wanted to shoot our handgun.  Andrew gave it a good effort.

 Joshua didn't miss his turn to try it out.

 Daniel and Micheal were eating dinner on the couch Friday night.  Pizza and soda.  There was a small space between them.  Joe was on the other side of the room finishing his meal.  I told him he was skinny enough to fit in the space.  I wanted to get a picture of the three oldest boys together.  There doesn't seem to be very many pictures of them after they were teenagers.  Joe grabbed someone else's plate and soda cup so he would look he would fit with Daniel and Michael's look.  :)  Thanks!

 Justin is ADORABLE!!!  He hurt his hand on barbed wire earlier in the day.  It was a nasty cut.  After he had lots of love and a good bandage, he had a great rest of the day playing outside and shooting guns with the big guys.  This kid loves to get his picture taken and give hugs.  I told him that he gives the best hugs.  He let me know that his mom tells them the same thing.  It must be true!

This little boy, Calvin, is a FLIRT!  He is so sweet with his blue eyes, hugs, requests, smiles, and sense of humor.  I bet his parents have a hard time keeping up with him. ;)

It was so wonderful to get together with the family for Thanksgiving.  I love having the chance to catch up with everyone, play with my nieces and nephews, and eat good food.  I am truly blessed to be in such a remarkable family!