Not to Mention November....

Well, as you can see my the date of this post that December has been a very busy month so far and I didn't want it to get too far from November before I made my November post....hence the title!

WOW!  We really did have a wonderful November.  God has truly blessed us more than we deserve.  It reminds me of John 1:16 "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another."  God is so good and we are so loved by Him.

This first week of November is always a special one for our family.  It's the week of my dad's birthday and my grandfather's birthday which is also the same day Lee's grandfather passed away four years ago.  It's such a bittersweet week but one filled with many great memories.

Also, in the first week of the month, we enjoyed spending some time at the Stine's house watching Monday Night Football between Lee's team (the Texans) and Mark's team (the Colts).  Needless to say the Colts won big.  We also had our 241 Sunday School class Leadership Team meeting at our house, Lee had rehearsal for the worship band, my weekly late-night conference call for work, dinner with the Secrest's at a new steakhouse in town (and thanks to Alexis's parents for picking up the tab!  So sweet of them), dinner with the Ingram's, and finally Lee playing guitar at church Sunday morning.  What a great way to celebrate that week!

The second week was tons of fun too!  I had to work late on Monday night for the Race for the Cure all-committee meeting and on Tuesday, I planned a retirement party for the first-ever Komen Southern Arizona employee.  Lots of fun and hard work but well worth it.  We miss you Susan!  We also had dinner at the U of A Athletics Director's house on Friday night.  We were so honored to be asked to over to their house and had a great time with all of the former U of A Hall of Fame players, donors, and guests.  We really are blessed by Lee's job and the perks that come along with it! :)  Also, that weekend, I had a Director's orientation for the Race for the Cure on Saturday before meeting Lee and the Secrest's at Arizona Stadium for the Wildcats football game that night.  Finally on Sunday, after church, I leaded to one last final retirement luncheon for a co-worker while Lee went to the U of A basketball game.

The third week was another full week for us but again, so much fun!  We had dinner at the Pogue's house, Lee had band rehearsal for church, of course my weekly late-night conference call, U of A basketball game, dinner with the Ingram's and Rohret's, sweet Bridget's baby shower, getting my hair highlighted by the wonderful Andrea, Lee playing guitar at church, our Sunday School class annual Thanksgiving Potluck Lunch, another U of A basketball game, and finally dinner with the Hutchinson's.  We are so blessed to have so many wondeful people in our lives.  Are you getting the theme of me feeling so blessed lately?!

Finally, Thanksgiving Week!!! :)  Before we headed off to Texas for Thanksgiving, I had a VERY late night Race meeting and boy was I ever glad to get that meeting over with.  We then headed to Dallas on Tuesday night and spent Wednesday shopping and heading to Ft. Worth for Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family.  So much fun and for the first time in many years every member of the family was there!  Thanksgiving Day, we had lunch with my mom's side of the family and then headed home to watch the Cowboys game and the Aggies game.  The Ags beat the Longhorns to make it an extra special Thanksgiving Day for us.  On Friday, we had brunch with my mom's dad and some of the family before driving down to Houston to spend the weekend with Lee's family.



Friday night, we ate our beloved Luling, TX BBQ that Lee's parents picked up for us on the way back from San Antonio while watching the U of A football game on TV.  On Saturday, we had family pictures made, celebrated our Niece's 4th birthday, and watched the Irish beat the Trojans.....great day!  Sunday, we went to church with Lee's mom, went to the Houston Texans NFL game, and then had some of our Houston friends over for dinner.  So great to see everyone!  Then Monday, we drove back to Dallas and then fly back to Tucson.  Gotta love those travel days!


Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and November.  So excited for Christmas in a couple of days!

One & Only October

Oh, October....as most of you know, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I never really realized what that meant until this past month since I work at Susan G. Komen for the Cure now.  Wow!  I am just glad I survived that month (no pun intended!).  Let's just say that I worked at least 60 if not 70 or 80 hours each week and put on or worked 42 events in just the month of October.  No wonder I am completely exhausted!

In addition to all the craziness at my job, Lee's job was as equally as busy as mine that month.....and people wonder why we don't have kids.  We need to stop working so much first!

The first week of October was filled with a date night (rare these days) with Lee at On the Border (oh tex-mex how I love you), the Notre Dame vs. Boston College football game, meetings at church and for church, Lee's rehearsal, happy hour with all of my former co-workers at Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, working Tucson Meet Yourself folk-life festival in downtown Tucson, double date with the Ingrams, Lee went to 241's man lunch, U of A vs. Oregon State football game with the Roherts, and then Lee played guitar on Sunday morning.



In the second week, I worked early and late quite a bit with Race for the Cure and morning breakfast meetings.  That week and weekend my mom also came into town and we did a whole lot but didn't take any pictures.  What's up with that?  Lee also traveled out to Idaho and Washington with the U of A football team for the Annual Donor Trip for the Washington State and U of A game.

The third week was quite boring as we just worked mostly.  I managed to squeeze in time to get an eye exam....real fun, I know!  Lee also had worship band rehearsal and I had more early and late night Komen meetings and events.  On Friday night, our churh had a 50's Sock Hop that we went to with several couples from our Sunday School class.  On Saturday, we had the U of A vs. Washington football game and we brought the Welch's along with us....such a fun couple!



The fourth week was absolutely insane but fun at the same time!  I worked 7 days this week....eeesh!  I had Race for the Cure late night meetings, we went to Fleming's for Lee's 29th birthday (annual bday dinner!), I worked a drag racing event for Komen, Lee had a "guy's night" with the guys for his bday, celebrated Joshua's birthday at Blanco, went to Lee's donor's The Repp's Halloween Party, Casas Street Fair on Sunday morning where Lee worked the cotton candy booth, and I worked for Komen on Sunday afternoon at the SPAghetti Dinnner.

Needless-to-say, we are glad that October is over but I know that it was all worth it in the end. 
Imagine a world without breast cancer!

Spectacular September

I can't believe September has come and gone so quickly.  As most of you know, Fall is my favorite season of the year....too bad we don't have a Fall in Tucson....and September marks the start of Fall and my birthday month so, to me, it's the best month of the year! :)

To start off September was bittersweet for me.  It marked my last week at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, which included a board mixer for work, celebratory dinner with Lee for my new job, my last furlough day, the start of college football (WHOOP!), U of A Game Watch for the first Wildcats game at the Secrests' house, Gran's birthday, and the first Notre Dame football game.  It was a great opening weekend for us....the Cats, Irish, and Aggies all won!

The second week of September included Labor Day, a few appointments for me before I started my new job, lunch with sweet Betsy, Pi Phi meeting, some shopping, date night with the Hubs, and the first U of A home football game, which the Mospans came into town from Phoenix.  While the guys watched the ND vs. Michigan game, Tara and I got a pedicure....oh, how I love when the Mospan's come into town!  We finished off the weekend with church and lunch at Tohono Chul Tea Room.

The third week was a blast for me.  I started my new job as the Events Manager for the Southern Arizona Affiliate for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  It has been a bit of a transition into this new job for me but I think it's going to work out nicely!  I also had my first Race for the Cure meeting that week along with Massage Envy's Massage for the Cure...that was fabulous!  I left on Thursday to fly to Dallas and then drive on Friday down to Austin with my mom for Candice's wedding.  I had such a fun time being back in Austin for Candice's Wedding Weekend.  Here's a sneak pick at the beautiful bride and me.



The next week, which was my birthday week, was really busy but super fun!  I didn't fly back to Tucson until Monday so I got to spend extra time with my family in Dallas.  Dad made my favorite dinner, chicken lasgna, I got to babysit my very sweet nephew for a couple of hours (loved every minute of that!), and spent some time with my grandparents for my bday.  So thankful that I have the best grandparents in the whole world! :)

On Tuesday, the day before my birthday, the girls from my Sunday School class surpirsed me with a "Surpirse Birthday Dinner" at Blanco in Tucson.  I absolutely loved it and had NO IDEA it was coming so it was a pure surprise....you can definitely tell I was surprised by what I was wearing.  Anyone who knows me, knows I would not be caught dead in public in a t-shirt and jeans....



....it was so sweet!  Everyone wore pink for me and my new job and got me the most wonderful cards and gifts.  WOW!  I am one blessed girl and love my Tucson friends all that much more!  Also, on Tuesday at work, my co-workers gave me flowers and a chocolate birthday cake.  It was so thoughtful of my new co-workers to do that for me that I didn't have the heart to tell them that my birthday wasn't until the next day. ;)

Finally, Wednesday...my 26th birthday...arrives and Lee wakes me up to hand me my birthday present.  It was a new study Bible with my new (well, not-so-new) last name on it.  We've been married for over three years now and I was still using a Bible with my maiden name on it, so it was definitely a fabulous present to receieve.  That night, we went to dinner at Bob's Steak & Chop House at the Omni.  It was so delicious and I loved every minute of it that we forgot to get a picture of us until we were on the way home in the car.  I would definitely have to say that was the best birthday yet....love you all who made it so special!

Oh, I almost forgot....my parents had a cookie bought delivered to me at work for my bday.  Love it! YUMMY!



We finished off my birthday week with Lee's parents and niece coming into town.  We spent the weekend having a blast with our niece.  We all had a birthday dinner for me at Gavi on Friday and then Saturday we watched the Notre Dame game as well as the t.u. game before heading off to Arizona Stadium to watch the Wildcats take on Cal.  We won in the last minute of the play and had an awesome time!  We topped off the weekend with breakfast at Cracker Barrell on Sunday before taking everyone back to the airport.  Why is it always so hard to say goodbye to family?

And now for the last week in September.  I had a Race executive committee meeting and another birthday dinner with Camille and Chrissy on Monday night.  Love those ladies and am so blessed to have celebrated my bday with so many wonderful people.  We had dinner with the Campbell's on Tuesday, and to finish off the last day in September, I had a U of A Athletic Department Spouse's Lunch at La Paloma Country Club.  It was a blast getting together with all the other wives (and husbands) and I'm definitely going to have to remember to do this one day when Lee's an AD.

Hope your September was just as spectacular as ours was.  Love to all!



Awesome August

What an awesome month August has been for us!  Man, I really feel like 2010 is just flying by....can't believe it's already September.

We started out the month delivering back packs that our Sunday School class, 241, filled for a few refugee families in Tucson.  That was such a great experience for Lee and me.  The rest of the first week of August was filled with watching the Bachelorette finale (yay for Roberto!), dinner with the McClain's, my board mixer for work, dinner with the Stine's, Lee's Wildcat Club happy hour, and 241 Ladies dinner.  Needless to say, by the time the weekend came we were exhausted!

The second week was equally as busy....I am starting think that our life will always be this busy!  We started off the week with a baby dedication for all of the 241 babies that born the last year or two.  I was in charge of planning that event and we had approximately 90 people there....glad it turned out well and we were able to celebrate all of the babies.  The rest of the week, I had a happy hour with my old boss, Jennifer, and it was fun catching up with her.  Lee also finished teaching his summer school class, and I had dinner with our realtor, Camille, before I left for Dallas/Austin trip on Thursday.

Speaking of Dallas and Austin, I had a blast going back to Dallas and riding with my mom down to Austin for a girls weekend and Candice's Bachelorette Party!!  Mom and I shopped in San Marcus (a little too much!), ate at the Gristmill in Gruene, TX before heading back to Austin for Candice's party.  I had such a great time catching up with Candice and celebrating her last night out with her and her friends.  Here's a few pics from that trip.

While I was out of town, Lee went to Fort Huachuca for the Arizona Wildcats football scrimmage and he also played guitar in big church....I hate when I miss him playing guitar in church.

The third week of August was filled with having the Scofields over for dinner, interviewing for a new job at Susan G. Komen for the Cure (yay!), packing and leaving for our summer vacation to San Diego on Wednesday.

Speaking of San Diego, our trip was fun despite me getting severly burnt (still peeling over two weeks later).  We stayed in Downtown on Wednesday night at the Grand Hyatt....so beautiful!  We explored Seaport Village before heading to Mission Bay for the remainder of our trip.  Thursday was filled with running around, doing work stuff, and getting settled into our room at the Hilton.  We had a nice dinner at the resort and got to watch the fireworks show at Sea World from our dinner table.....that was awesome.  Friday, we layed out by the pool and this is where the serve burn came into play...ouch, it still hurs thinking about it!  We went to Little Italy for dinner which was nice, and then Saturday, we went to Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Bird Rock, Windan Sea Beach (my favorite!), and La Jolla.  We had a great time!  And, we finished up the evening eating at George's on the Cove in La Jolla and then back to our hotel for more fireworks watching.  On Sunday, we drove to Coronado Island, had lunch, and then drove back to Tucson.  It was great to have a little time by ourselves and explore a new place before the school year started.

As August came to a close, we finished out the month with my work retreat, Lee's all-staff BBQ, prayer night at church, doctors and dentist appointments, dinner with the Tomczyk's, Key Leader meeting at church, met with Susan G. Komen and got a job offer, double date with the Ingrams, church meeting, Pi Phi AAC/EXEC meetings, Wildcat Club orientation, and dinner with Pastor Phil....whew, we ended the month just as busy as it started!

July Jubilee

July has been another awesome month for us!!  We started off the month with Lee's softball playoffs, another furlough (unpaid) day for Lacey, dinner with the Provost's and their super cute baby girl, playing golf, attending Chrissy & Ben's 2nd Annual 4th of July party, and having two couples from our Sunday School class over on the 4th for dinner fireworks that were being fired off in our neighborhood....it was so cool! :)

The second week in July started off with a bang too.  We went to Chase Field in Phoenix to see the Diamondbacks play the Cubs with our friends, The Dubs!  We sure had fun hanging out Jackson and Kenley!  Lee also had his weekly basketball game and band rehearsal for church on Sunday.  I attended my board mixer for work and had a long work week getting ready for my 4th annual golf tournament for work on that Saturday....which was a great success and 13 degrees cooler than last year's tournament!

In the third week of July Lee started teaching his summer school class, The Business of College Sports, at the University of Arizona.  Lee is so good at teaching....I just wish he would let me take his class.  Haha!  I worked late all week getting ready for my 19th Annual Steak & Burger Dinner at work.  Two work events two weekends in a row is REALLY hard and stressful.  Overall the dinner was a success with over 600 guests in attendance and lots of media coverage!  Lee and I also did a video filming for our church on Sunday which was a really neat experience.

The next week was a little quieter for us in a lot of ways.  Since Lee is teaching, he works late every night and comes home only to get ready for his class the next day.  I really feel for him and appreciate how hard he is working!  We had a 241 leadership team meeting at our house as well as had dinner with the Helphenstine's and Baby Payton.  We also went back to Phoenix on Saturday for another Diamondbacks game with the Ingrams and the Rohrets.  We had a blast and thanks to the Ingrams for inviting us!  On Sunday, Lee attended the Notre Dame Club of Tucson's Send-Off for the Tucson area students that are heading to ND this fall.  I heard it was super fun!

The last week of July was so relaxing for us.....that's so unusual but I loved it!  I was able to work out three times this week.  I can't believe that!  We also drove out to Vail, AZ to have dinner with the Pogue's at their house.  It's always so fun to be able to hang out with friends during the week.  The Lord has really blessed us with AMAZING friends out here in Tucson!!  We also had dinner at the Young's house on Friday night and attended sweet Payton's 1st birthday party on Saturday.  Can't believe tomorrow is going to be August 1st!  Summer is sure flying by so fast.

Joyous June!

June is one of my favorite months of the year!!  It's the month that officially marks the beginning of summer and the month we got married in!

The first week of June was very busy for us.  We met Baby Kennedy Jo and flew back from Houston on the 1st.  I had work meetings after work, board mixers, Lee had worship band practice at Casas Church, we took our friends, The Rohret's, a meal plan and met baby Zack, had a date night, and Lee played golf on Saturday and played guitar at church while I went to Scottsdale for the 2nd Annual Mother/Daughter Trip.

Speaking of my 2nd Annual Mother/Daughter Trip, it was fabulous!!  Mom and I stayed at The Phoenician Resort & Spa on Saturday and then moved to the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa on Sunday.  On Saturday morning, I picked mom up from the airport and we headed straight for The Phoenician.  We checked into our awesome room and headed straight for the pool where we stayed until dinner time.

On Saturday night we went to a late dinner at G&J Steakhouse at The Phoenician.  It was a so good!

On Sunday, we got up checked out of The Phoenician and into the Westin Kierland.  It was nice to try another hotel but we sure felt like we were "slumming" compared to The Phoenician.....Haha, who can say they are "slumming" in a Westin?!  We then went shopping at Fashion Square and didn't have much luck.  Finally, we just resorted to having Happy Hour at ZTejas before heading to our 90-minute massages.  That was so relaxing!  That night we went to the movies at saw "Sex in the City 2".  Mom had already seen the movie and it was so late for us that it didn't feel as good as the first one but still good!

On Monday, we got up and went to breakfast at my favorite breakfast place called Butterfield's.  I love that place so much but it's only in Scottsdale....wish they had one in Tucson.  Then we went to the pool and floated the lazy river for hours back at the Westin.  Finally, the hour I had been dreading came when I had to go back to Tucson without mom while she stayed at the Westin for another 2 days.  It's always so sad to leave each other but I knew I would see her in less than two weeks for my cousin's wedding.

The second week of June with busy also.  I am starting to think that is just a trend in my life!  I went back to work on Tuesday and that night we had dinner with The Hess'.  They are awesome people and I'm so glad we're in Sunday School together.  Of course, I had early meetings for work and Lee had softball games....the usual mid-week stuff for us.  Then, on Friday night, we drove to Saharita (just south of Tucson) to have dinner with some people from the Notre Dame Club of Tucson.  That was fun and we got to experience another part of Southern Arizona that we hadn't before.  On Saturday, we had our 241 ABF summer social, "Breakfast in the Park" at a park by our house.  It was great to see everyone and their babies all playing together.  After that a few couples came over to our house to watch the USA vs. England soccer game.  It was a blast watching everyone getting into the soccer game and making an In-N-Out burger run for everyone with Anna! :)

The third week of June was much quieter (is that a word?) fo us.  It was a nice change of pace for us for once!  On Monday we were able to work out after work and cook dinner without having anything else to do!  Tuesday we had dinner with the McLain's at On-the-Border.  It was nice to introduce our Tucson friends to Tex-Mex.  Wednesday night we did laundry and packed for our trip back to Texas the next day.  On Thursday we left work a little early and flew into Dallas for my cousin, Jenn's, wedding.  Friday was a relaxing day at my parents house and then we headed to Tyler, Texas for my cousin's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at my aunt and uncle's house.

Aunt Susan, me, Papa Art, and Mama Granny

On Saturday we just hung out with my parents and mom and I ran a few errands.  Then we got ready and drove back to Tyler for Jenn and Marshall's wedding.  We had a blast and felt so honored to be a part of The Harrell's (fun to say!) special day.

Dad and me....we matched perfectly!  Happy Father's Day!

Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Harrell

Mr. and Mrs. Lee De Leon

Thompson Family Photo....can't believe my parents have been married for 30 years this December!

On Sunday, we went to my parent's church, Lakepointe, which I just LOVE!!  It's always a treat to get to go there while we're in town.  We had my granddaddy and his wife, Shirley, over for burgers and also got to spend father's day with my dad, brother, and his son, Harley.  It was a fantastic Father's Day and I feel so blessed to have such marvelous men in my life.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

A VERY tired Harley with his Lolli :)

Granddaddy and his wonderful wife, Shirley

4 Generations!! (P.S. I love that Harley and Granddaddy are making the same facial expressions!)

Harley Man in the pool at Lolli Land!

The fourth week of June proved, once again, to be quite busy for us.  Lee's cousins, The Holmes, were in Tucson as part of their vacation so they came to our house for dinner and had s'mores in our firepit.  It's always fun to be around family and I'm grateful they came to see us on their trip!  I, of course, had late meetings after work, Lee taught at sports class in the College of Managment for a friend, played softball, went on a double date with the Ingrams....so much fun!....and had a date night with just the two of us!

Finally, the last week of June!  I had happy hour with a co-worker, Crystal, and a former co-worker, Shannon.  We laughed so hard at the wacky things that happen in our lives, families, and at our jobs.  I truly miss Shannon and hope to see her more often!  Lee played basketball with the guys after work on Tuesday and then came Wednesday......

Wednesday, June 30th, was our 3-YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!  I can't believe it's been three years already.  I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun.  I am truly blessed to have Lee in my life as my best friend and the great love of my life.  He is the greatest man I know!

For our anniversary, we had dinner at The Grill at Hacienda del Sol.  This place is so neat and has won tons of awards for best romantic dining....what better place to go on your anniversary?!

I hope everyone had a joyous June as we did!!