Mary-Mitchell takes Tucson

I wanted to post a few pictures from our visit with John's sister Mary-Mitchell. We haven't seen her since the summer we moved to Tucson, so it was wonderful having her here. And, MM brought her great friend Heather, who we've been lucky enough to know for several years. We ate lots of Mexican food, visited the Desert Museum, and took a road trip to the Grand Canyon. All four of us (plus Winston) drove up there and went to bed early, planning on waking up nice and early to watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. As residents of Tucson, we're accustomed to not relying on the weather forecast, so we were surprised to wake up to several inches of snow. After waiting a few hours for visibility to improve, we finally did make it to see the amazing view. And, Clark Griswold-style, we got back in the car and drove back. We did stop in Sedona, which is absolutely beautiful, for some lunch, coffee, fudge, and sunshine. It was great to see MM, and we can't wait to see her again!!

Yes, John wore shorts. Raise your hand if you're surprised. Anyone? Anyone?

Baby love!

Hi everyone!!

By now everyone around us has heard, but I will announce it here on the blog anyway....we are having a baby! John and I are completely over the moon and excited about our little peanut. I am in my 16th week, and feeling wonderful. In the first trimester I was queasy at times and extremely exhausted...I seem to be in the lucky minority of women who don't have to live with their heads in the toilet. I have managed to sprout a wee Buddha belly, and am wearing it proudly. John is also feeling wonderful (I'm sure you were wondering), and keeping pace with my voracious reading of pregnancy- and baby-related books. Winston is of course clueless, but will no doubt have the shock of his little life when he realizes (1) that he has to share attention, and (2) that he was adopted (ha!). The baby has already been exposed to all sorts of Demon Deacon sports, as well as cell biology from a big meeting in San Francisco that I attended. The holidays in NC were fantastic, and it was really touching to see how excited our families are for the first grand-baby on either side.

I'll be posting some pictures from the past few weeks soon, but in the meantime, below is a picture of a baby at 16 weeks. I'd like to think it is from a webcam installed in my uterus, but that baby doesn't look like a ginger to me (you'll have see John's very cute baby pictures).

Stuffed turkeys, and stuffed bellies

Last night we arrived back home from a great trip out to L.A. to visit Brian and Heather. They just moved into their beautiful new house a week ago, and were still willing to have some company. The house was built in the 1920s, and has a lot of the original charm mixed in with modern updates. For Thanksgiving, Brian got a deep-fried turkey that had a great Cajun seasoning (according to the meat-eaters), and I cooked the side dishes (just the basics).



On Friday, Brian, John, and I went to see Wake Forest play in the 76 Classic in Anaheim. Since there aren't too many Wake fans out there, we got seats right behind the Wake bench. We felt like we were part of the huddle, and could hear everything the coach was saying. John did have to watch his mouth (oh the pain!), since we knew the players could hear us too. We even made a bunch of the close-ups on ESPN2.

Anybody else like the guy right behind me? Doh!

The rest of the weekend was spent napping, unpacking, eating Yummy Cupcakes (which will make an appearance as Brian and Heather's wedding cake), and just hanging out. Loads of fun! Many thanks to Brian and Heather!

Big news, everyone!

Hey folks,
We've got some fun news. After two years with Winston as our best four-legged friend, we're putting an end to all of the speculation about who his parents were. He knows what his mother was, but he's not telling. As for his father, we don't know...I'm not sure if his mother was the type to "associate" with basset hounds or cairn terriers. As a goofy holiday gift to us, we have sent away Winston's blood to determine his breed make-up. We're using a test through our vet, called the Wisdom Panel that will test for over 150 different breeds. A lot of people do this to get an idea of potential health issues that go hand-in-hand with some breeds, but we're just curious about our little buddy. We'll get the results in a few weeks, so until then, feel free to comment with what you think he is. And, although the "Winston" breed would make the best breed ever, his kind begins and ends with him (snip, snip). To be continued....

The air is cooler....time for Election Day!

John and I just couldn't wait until November 4th to vote, so today we went together at lunch to participate in early voting. I know that McCain will likely win Arizona big-time, but I am so excited about Obama that I couldn't help feeling big and powerful filling in the bubble next to his name. There were several propositions that we had to read up on, ranging from eliminating payday loan practices to defining marriage as between a man and woman (which is ridiculous discrimination in my book, and redundant, as same-sex marriage is already prohibited...don't get me started!). Whatever your views, make sure to go out and vote!! You'll look as happy as me this afternoon (and get a sticker).

Birthday dog!

This past week we had a lot to celebrate. John and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary with a nice dinner out last night. To celebrate Winston's 2nd birthday, we invited our friends and their dogs to come play at the dog park. I made tasty "pup-cakes" for the dogs, and provided party hats for the dogs and plenty of tennis balls. It was a great time seeing all of the dogs play, even if Winston had no clue it was for his birthday. Here are some pictures:

The birthday dog!


Charlie with a party hat and a smile.

Buster was clueless about the hat.

Winston thanking me for a fun day.

Ripley, Winston, and Cooper sitting for Somer (or the cupcake in her hand).

Here are all of the pictures from the day:

Anniversary

Tomorrow marks the One Year Anniversary of our arrival into Tucson. While missing home and family a ton, we've carved out a nice little life for the Campbell Clan here. We've had our ups (kick-ass Europe trip, Winston's growing CV, my growing CV) and a few downs (ugh). Not much else to say, except that we are thankful to have friends and family back home that are wonderful enough to trigger such homesickness (so bittersweet), and thankful to have such wonderful friends, and each other, here to ease the homesickness. Paging Dr. Phil!