Let it Snow

Janelle and the girls have been having fun with Christmas crafts lately. One of the more fun ones for the girls (at least until it came time to painstakingly pull little bits of glue off) were Let-it-Snow (from FamilyFun) snowflake t-shirts. The girls dig them and have been wearing them tons. If they had been long-sleeves and a whole lot heavier, they would have been perfect for our Sunday adventure to Williams, AZ to ride the Grand Canyon Railway's Polar Express. It was 15 degrees there with some snow on the ground. Had we booked tickets for today, we'd either not have been able to go, or been snowed in. The forecast is for 30" of snow. Who knew AZ got so much snow?!

Stay tuned for pics from the Polar Express.

ZooLights 2008

While we are missing the lack of commercialism enjoyed in Central Asia this time of year, and the fire department's Santa visits in Torrance, we're finding much to enjoy this Christmas season here in the Phoenix area. We recently made use of our zoo pass to take in the annual ZooLights celebration at the Phoenix Zoo. While not quite as impressive as we'd hoped, Jenga, the life-size talking giraffe (lower left in the photo), was pretty amazing. They also had a light show with music that was pretty cool, and Chloe, who prides herself on being Daddy's "tiger", was very happy to find some tiger cubs in lights. The Gilbert city hall had their own celebration a few nights ago with live music, lots of festive lights, and a large tree that was lit up (of course, the biggest hit for the girls were the free glow sticks!). Perhaps our favorite so far, though, was the Luminaria held at the lake by the regional library. The entire lake was surrounded by 1,000+ luminaries (small bags with candles inside). Lots of live music to add to the festivities (our favorite was the guy playing "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes). The festivities will continue this weekend with Elise & Chloe dancing in their respective ballet shows. We'll be sure to post an update on that along with a photo. Stay tuned...

"You oughta be in pictures..."

Never mind the fact that Chloe (along with all of her sisters) is going to need major, budget-busting orthodontic work. It's all about the smile, and she's got a great one that emanates from the core of her "life is great!" easy-going attitude.

Showing us how it's done...

For those of you not familiar with the finer points of Cootie ("The original build-your-own-bug game!"), Grace demonstrates her winning dice-rolling technique, a key skill as success ultimately lies in who can roll the number 6 most consistently (6 wins you a leg, and Cooties have a lot of legs). We recommend playing on a glass surface, which makes the die action far livelier than on wood or other non-glass surfaces. This effectively extends the already brain-chilling length of the game.

Fun with Uncle Scott

My brother, Scott, paid us a visit yesterday while in town for a conference. After a great hike around a nearby lake, we headed home for an awesome dinner of chicken enchiladas (thanks, Janelle!). Little did Scott know that he would be called on to wrestle, read the Berenstein Bears, and fight to the finish in a competitive game of Cooties - a challenge for any bachelor! The girls had a blast (as did Mom & Dad). Scott survived, and is now broken in a bit before he hosts our other brother and his crew of girls for Thanksgiving.

Schmoozing

Our neighborhood HOA hosted a block party on Saturday, a great time to get out and meet some of the neighbors now that the weather is cooling off a bit (it's all relative -- we're talking the low 90s). Aside from free hotdogs, Cheetos, and cake, the main highlight for the girls (and little Brooke in particular) was talking a ride around the basketball court in a modified golf cart. It wasn't until after several rides that I finally hopped onboard and realized that the driver was none other than the mayor of Gilbert (fastest growing city in the country). After about a dozen rides, the girls gave him a break so he could a bit of his own schmoozing.

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

Chloe turned 5 last week and enjoyed a fun pizza party with many of her new school friends. Her fun, spunky attitude and easy-going nature are a blessing to all who know her, but especially to us! Happy birthday, Chloe!

Yogur Face Painting

At almost 14 months old now, Brooke has definitely arrived at the "I want to do it myself!" and "I want want big people are eating!" stage. She's definitely got strong opinions about mealtime now, and the dinnertime decibel level has definitely reached a deafening din. But who couldn't love a yogurt-covered face like this?!

Brooke's other major accomplishment is that she is quite adept at climbing up & down stairs. We are seriously delighted to no longer have a gate between our kitchen and family room area (it has just 2-3 stairs). She can zip up the main stairs to the 2nd floor as soon as we get distracted, and does quite well scooting down them under our watchful eyes, but I'm confident the gate on these stairs will remain for the foreseeable future. The tile at the bottom doesn't make for soft, boo-boo-free landings!

God's Creativity - Part III

No trip to Thailand seems complete without seeing one of God's most amazing creatures - elephants! I took advantage of an afternoon off and headed to a nearby elephant farm to see these amazing creatures in action. A 30-minute elephant ride through the rainforest was certainly a highlight! And who knew these beefy guys were so tourist friendly? Packed on the side of the elephant was a handy umbrella so the occasional downpours don't dampen your ride too much.

God's Creativity - Part II

Another example of God's incredible creavity found in Thailand are orchids. They are found in abundance around the country in a variety of types and colors, and many cities, including Chiang Mai, have orchid farms that you can visit. This shot was taken at a combo orchid and butterfly farm, though the butterflies were few & far between. Plenty of gorgeous orchids to enjoy, however.

Ready for some orchid triva? There are 25,000+ types, making it the most common type of plant in the world. Though many are edible and used for cooking in some cultures (e.g. Hawaii), vanilla is the only edible fruit of the orchid family. Hey, you learn something new everyday!

God's Creativity

 

Just returned from a trip to Thailand for work, where I was sharing at a conference for colleagues from around the region. We stayed at a hotel tucked away up in the mountains near Chiang Mai, the grounds of which were quite beautiful with a stream flowing through it and a big pond. The Chiang Mai region is a rain forest, and, sure enough, we had plenty of rain every day! But all that rain makes the region quite scenic, too. I came across this beautiful butterfly (technically, I think it is a moth, but don't ask me to provide a discourse on the difference between the two!) on my first day there. Its wings were bigger than my hands! Getting close to something like this helps you appreciate God's creativity. "For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands" (Psalm 92:4).

The Stoops Men

We were incredibly thankful to have Brad's entire family together for a few days during our visit to VA (the first time since Christmas 2002!). Time was way too short, but we're thankful for family and for the great few days we had together. Pictured L to R are Brad, Mark, Scott and Dad.

Brooke: Busy at the Beach

Brooke didn't quite make it into the photo with her cousins (below), so she gets a solo shot. Whether digging in the sand or crashing into the waves with her dad, she couldn't get enough of the beach! She just turned 1 year old and is now realizing that it is much more fun to walk than to crawl. She continues to be a source of great delight for our entire family.

6 Stoops Girls

Our girls had a blast in Virginia Beach spending time with their cousins, uncles, aunt, and grandparents. This was a shot down at the beach. Our girls (Chloe, Grace, Elise) are wrapped in the white towel flanked by their cousins Finley, Emily and Katie.

To Spain & Back

Just home from a 10-day trip to the Andalusia region of Spain (southern region). Having never been to Spain before, I had no idea what to expect. I knew they are known for olive oil, but I had no idea just how big an industry olives were in this particular region. The olive groves literally spread out as far as the eye could see in every direction. I was also a bit surprised how rugged the landscape was. Quite scenic, and also reminiscent of southern California (minus all those olive trees!). Too bad my olive oil got confiscated enroute back to the U.S. :-(

A True Princess

Grace peeking out of her new pop-up princess house

Happy 3rd Birthday, Grace!

Part of Grace's festivities today included a girly twist on an old classic: Pin the Butterfly on the Flower. With the girls' help, Janelle made a beautiful poster-size drawing of a flower, which we taped to the wall. When the guest arrived, they got to color their own butterfly, which Janelle had earlier cut out of paper. The game was a great hit, especially when the kids realized they each won a lollipop just for playing the game!

The Princess Party House

Grace turned 3 today (yeah!) and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast party with mom & dad and her 3 sisters. The usual breakfast cereal got set aside for an awesome treat of cinnamon rolls, sausage and eggs. Mmmm! Grace got to open her family presents afterward, one of which was a princess pop-up play house. The house gave much pleasure to the girls in the morning, and was a popular hit in the evening, too, when a few families came over for Grace's big party. How many kids can you fit into a 3'x3' pop-up house? Apparently quite a few! Grace (far right) enjoyed this photo op with Ellie & Chloe (far left) and friends Justin, Alicia and Kirra. Fun times for all in the princess party house!

Blast Xtreme

Friday was a day of celebration in the Stoops household. Brad turned, um, well... Brad had a birthday AND the girls enjoyed their last day of Vacation Bible School, which concluded with a performance on Friday night. Hundreds of kids participated, and it was pandemonium until the youth director, "Captain Marshall", called the kids to report for duty. They responded to that amazingly well, and went on to do an awesome job singing several songs and reciting the several Bible verses that they memorized. Way to go Stoops girls!

Girls, Meet your Uncle Scott

A couple weeks ago, we gathered with friends & family in Covina, CA to say goodbye to an amazing woman, Billie Stoops (Brad's grandma). Despite the sad circumstances of our gathering, it was great to be together with family. One particular highlight was for our girls to get to see/meet their Uncle Scott. We'd not seen him since Ellie was a baby, so he had never even met 3 of his nieces (Chloe, Grace & Brooke). Our time together was brief, but enough for the girls to begin to get (re)acquainted with their uncle. We're all looking forward to more time with him when we head back east to Virginia this summer for a quick family visit.