Van Voris Family Adventures: January 2009

It's the last weekend before Genna and I have to return to school for second semester (only 86 days left!). So we decided to make teh most of it. We went to feed the ducks at the riparian institute then we had a barbecue. The BBQ was a bust since it was cold and there were loud and obnoxious teenagers there - you know the type. But we didn't let it ruin our time - we went home, grilled and watched movies.

The following evening Genna and I went to the production of The Lion King. Auntie Chelle bought us tickets for Christmas and the show was fantastic! It was amazing to see all the animals go down the aisles during the opening number, "Circle of Life". I think Genna was a little overwhelmed at the number of people around, but by the second act she was enjoying herself. We had an excellent time - a show I will never forget!

The second half of 2008 was very busy, so busy that I wasn't on the computer much. When I was online I was just poking around playing on Webkinz and facebook and checking my calorie burn on body bugg. Most of my free time was spent with my family. We have had our share of adventures! September took us to Payson twice - once just Dirk and myself on the motorcycle and two weeks later with Genna. We hiked to this beautiful waterfall - amazing considering it's Arizona and one doesn't equate the desert with waterfalls. We also went to Tonto Natural Bridge - a highly recommended side trip. I bet it's gorgeous now all snow-covered, but the thought of traveling down the VERY STEEP road in the snow is just scary.

In October Genna and I returned to Disneyland for four days during our fall break. We saw all of the Halloween decorations - Disney goes all out! We were actually there celebrating Genna's birthday so Michelle got us tickets to Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party. It was fun getting dressed up and seeing everyone in costume, butI'm not sure if we will do it again. Pros: unique experience, got to wear a costume to CA Adventure, got LOTS of candy, many of the characters were out, got to dance with Sully from Monsters INC! Cons: TOO CROWDED, didn't get to ride any rides, expensive for what we did get to do. We had a wonderful time anyway. During this same trip we also went to Ariel's Grotto for genna's birthday dinner - now that was totally worth the money! Ariel greeted us at the door and each princess - Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, and Aurora - came to our table, chatted with Genna for a bit and took pictures with her. They did the same for every table in the room. The food was fantasic and Genna was all smiles despite the fact that we were freezing (a cold front hit CA that same day that drove the temps into the 50s). All in all our trip to Disney in OCT was better than our summer trips even though it was much more crowded.

The following week we celebrated Genna's 8th birthday with a party at Build-A-Bear. We took a small group of girls to the shop to build ther own teddy bears, dress them and give them names complete with birth certificates. Then each girls' bear can come to life on the internet in a special place called Bearville. There weren't any cool toys like this when I was a kid!

In November Genna competed in her first swim meet! She's been swimming with Aqua-Tots since 2004 and is actually quite good! She swam in three relays, backstroke, free-style and breast stroke (ugh). She won 6 ribbons - 2 first, 2 second, 1 third and 1 fifth (guess which stroke). I was so proud of my baby girl!

In late November Dirk and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. I find it amazing to know we've been together 10 years - most of the people in my life have been around less than that! For our anniversary I took Dirk hiking, then to a spa in the evening to get a massage. It was a lot of fun.

Next thing I knew it was December and the holidays were upon us. Christmas was expensive, but worth every penny. For the first time since Genna was born we didn't wake up in our own house - we spent the night at Dad's. (Mom recently had her hip replaced and we planned Christmas Day at michelle's - no need to drive to north PHX two days in a row.) So Grandpa and Grandma Jeanie had a chance to experience Genna on Christmas morning checking out her haul from Santa. Dad really went all out to make it special for her, complete with sleigh bell found on the front lawn. As I told Dirk - we're not making moments, we're making memories. I hope when Genna is older she will look back on her childhood and smile.