End of 2009 Recap....2 months late!

We had a great December and end to 2009!  We started off with our Sunday School class, 241, Christmas party at the Dubs house, Lee's student intern party at our house, and a LOOOOOONG trip back to Texas (okay, for me at least!).

Lee taught a winter-mester class for U of A to earn a few extra dollars for us since my salary reduction.  I am so proud of my Professor De Leon!  Since Lee was teaching he came back to Tucson the Sunday after Christmas while I stayed in Texas for the next week, New Year's, and my mom's 50th birthday party on the 1st.  I was sad to spend New Year's eve without Lee but it sure was fun being back in the lone star state! Lee also went to San Diego to see the U of A Wildcats play in the Holiday Bowl.  Unfortunately, the Cats ran out of time but Lee had a blast spending quality time with his dad on the San Diego trip.

Here's a few pictures of our house decorated for Christmas

Pics from our trip back to Texas....we had a true white Christmas on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning!

More to come on January......stay tuned!

Catching Up on November

November was an unbelievably busy month for us, in particular me.  I have never worked as much or as hard as I did for my job during the first three weeks of November.  Needless-to-say, I am so thankful the Holiday Auction is over for another year anyway!

Well, here's a little catch up on our November:

The first weekend my parents and grandparents came to visit us.  It was my dad's first time to Tucson as well as my grandfather's first time.  We all had a blast going to the U of A Homecoming football game, playing golf, fixing things around the house, going out to eat, church, and exploring Tucson like we did!

Here's a few pictures from their trip to Tucson!

The following weekend we stayed home and rested, worked, and had people over to watch another U of A football game.  It was a great weekend!

Finally, the weekend of November 21st had arrived.....that was the night of my big event, the Holiday Auction, I had been planning so long and hard for and the night of the U of A vs. Oregon football game.  ESPN's College Gameday came to Tucson that day and it was the biggest football game in U of A's history.  The Cats ended up losing in double over-time and my Auction suffered because of the game.  But, overall, the Auction was a success and I am so thankful it's over!

The next week was Thanksgiving week and we were so glad to be going back home.  Although, it was a weekend full of taveling all over the state for Lee (Dallas, College Station, Houston, McAllen, and back to Dallas before heading back to Tucson), we had a great time seeing family, friends, and watching Texas A&M vs. t.u. football game.  Wish the Ags could have pulled off the victory....there's always next time!

Here's a few pics from Thanksgiving weekend!

Mom and I at the A&M game

Lee and Mimi in Mimi's suite at the game

Our adorable future Aggie niece, Ana

The De Leon Family

Hope everyone had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as we did!

Lee's Parent's Visit to Tucson

The weekend before last Lee's parents came to visit us.  We had such a good time on their weekend trip to Tucson.

They came in Friday afternoon and we all went out to eat to celebrate Lee's birthday at a local Tucson restaurant, El Corral.  It was our first time to eat there and it was delicious!

Saturday, I woke up not feeling well so I decided not to go to the football game and rest on the couch.  Boy, did I miss my Hubs for 8 hours!  Lee took his parents to see the Wildcats play a great game at Arizona Stadium.  Wish I could have been there!

We all went to church on Sunday, had lunch, rested, the guys worked on the "yard" while Carol and I cooked dinner.  All-in-all it was a great weekend!

Lawrence and Mike Come to Tucson

Guess what?  I am a week late in posting AGAIN.  Maybe one day I will be able to catch up on here.  Who knows?!

Well the weekend before last Lee's former co-workers at University of Houston come to visit.  Lawrence and Mike are great guys and we had a blast hanging out all weekend.  I wish Lawrence's wife, Candace, would have been able to come.

We picked the guys up from the Phoenix airport Thursday night and ate at our favorite Phoenix dinner spot, ZTejas!  It was a little slice of Texas (well almost!) for us.

On Friday the guys had In-N-Out burger and then went to campus while I worked.  They also had a "guys night" which meant I was not allowed.  No problem for me.  I had dinner with a friend.

Saturday was "game day!"  First, the USC vs. Notre Dame football game.  This was a case of our "house divided" literally.  Lawrence - from southern california - was rooting for the Trojans while Lee - ND alum - was rooting for the Irish.  It was a great game and I'm proud of the Irish for fighting back as hard as they did!  Next, was Game Day Grill with the guys and then finally Standard vs. UofA game time!

We started off by watching the first quater of the UofA game on the field.  The Cats even scored a touchdown 4 feet from us....it was so exciting!!!  Here are the guys on the field.

Then we went up into one of the skyboxes (or suites as most people call them).  Here we are in the suite with Lee's Wildcat Club logo that he created in the background.

After the game we went out to eat with the Fulton's.  They are such sweet people and have really made us feel so welcomed at Arizona.

Sunday morning we got up and drove back to Phoenix so we could eat breakfast at Butterfield's.  Yes, it is heaven in your mouth!  Then we took the guys back to the airport and drove back to Tucson.

We had a great weekend with the guys and thanks for coming to visit us!  We miss ya'll.

Seattle and Dallas

As you all have figured out by now that we've been traveling A LOT this fall but we wouldn't have it any other way!  Fall brings lots of football, friends, and traveling for us especially with Lee's job.

Last weekend Lee headed to Seattle on the annual U of A donor trip to see the Wildcats play against the University of Washington Huskies -- which the Cats lost in the final 2 minutes.  What a heartbreaker!  Here are a few pictures from Lee's trip.

This is the boat Lee and the donors took to the stadium!

The stadium is right on the water.

While Lee was in Seattle, I flew back to Dallas to spend a weekend with my family.  I am so grateful for the time I am able to spend with my family, and I love them so much.

My trip to Dallas was pretty restful compared to most of my trips back to the "Big D."  I wish the weather had been nicer but it was great to see rain and experience the cool front while it lasted.  Those are two things Arizona doesn't have very much of!

I flew in Friday night and mom, dad, and I immediately went to Mi Cocina (my favorite tex-mex restaurant) for dinner.  Oh how I miss tex-mex and wish I could share it with all of our AZ friends!

On Saturday we woke up early and went to see my aunt's new house and shopping for a little while.  After that mom and I went to Panera Bread for a late lunch/early dinner and then we watched a movie at the house. 

Sunday was a pretty full day too!  We went to early service at church and then met my dad's side of the family for lunch at Pappadeaux.  After lunch we all gathered at my grandfather's gravesite.  I can't believe it has been a year since Papa has gone home to be with Jesus.  I can just picture him playing golf with Jesus right now and that makes me smile! :)

Monday morning rolled around and mom and I got a mani and pedi from the best nail salon in the world!  It was so relaxing!  We went on to meet Granddaddy, Shirley, and Shirley's daughter, Kim, for lunch to celebrate Shirley's birthday.  Then I headed to the airport to fly back to Tucson.

It will only be two and a half more weeks until my mom, dad, and my grandparents come to Tucson to visit.  I can't wait!!  But first, Lawrence and Mike visit us and then Lee's parents come the following weekend.

Chicago and Notre Dame Trip

Just warning you now this is probably going to be a long post....sorry!

Last weekend Lee and I traveled to Chicago and then to South Bend, Indiana for the Notre Dame vs. Washington football game.  We had such a great time and loved seeing so many friends.  I know I am just an "adopted domer" but I really love that place and it's truly special.  Aggieland still holds my heart but I do love the Irish!

On Thursday night we stayed with Mehgan and Al.  Mehgan was so sweet to stay up and wait for us to get in.  Thanks for letting us stay with you!  I sure miss this girl!

Here's a picture of me with Mehgan.

On Friday, Lee and I walked around downtown Chi-town and then met Kristin, Garrett, and Pete for lunch at Giordano's (the BEST pizza EVER!). 

Here are the guys over our two-hour lunch talking about their Notre Dame days.

After lunch Kristin, Garrett, Lee, and I all drove to South Bend to arrive in time to do the "tunnel walk" on Notre Dame's campus only to find that the visiting team took to long on their walk through and the tunnel was closed.  However, we did get to see part of the Knute Rockne statue unvailing.  All ND fans would know who this guy is (not me!).

Lee and I then walked around campus, went to the bookstore to buy me a long sleeve ND shirt and then went to the outdoor pep rally.  We had so much fun!!

Here is a picture of us walking around campus

Part of the pep rally

After the pep rally we met up with Rebecca and Zach along with their baby Asher for dinner at Legends on campus.  Lee's friend Justin came too.

Here is the Allen family

And Justin, Lee, and me

After dinner Lee and I walked around campus at night in the rain.  By the end of the walk our shoes and socks were soaked but we had the best time.

Here's a picture of the Grotto at night.  Isn't it gorgeous?

On Saturday (a.k.a. Game Day) we woke up to Mr. and Mrs. Ellison cooking us pancakes.  They were so sweet to let 3 couples stay at their house all weekend.  The Ellison's are the best hosts ever!  After breakfast Lee and I drove over to the Allen's to pick them up and head to campus.  It's a tradition for us to go to ND home games with Rececca and Zach!

Once on campus Becca and I had chicken sandwhiches while the guys ate their "Knights of Columbus" steak sandwhiches.  Lee swears up and down these are the best steak sandwhiches ever.  He likes them so much that he even took a picture of it....haha!  We walked around campus during the daylight.  I can't even begin to describe the feeling of excitement I get when I see the golden dome.  It's so AWESOME!!

Here's us "doming it"

Then we met up with everyone for the team walk!

And the girls!

It's finally game time!

By the end of the game we were soaked pretty much head and toe and looked like this....haha!

After the game, we went back to the Ellison's and had a "post game" party with pretty everyone anyone knew that was in South Bend for the weekend.  It was a blast getting to know so many people this weekend!

On Sunday, we went to church with everyone at the Ellison's church then Lee and I went to the College Football Hall of Fame that is located in South Bend.  Next year it is moving to Atlanta.

Here it is!

Then we met everyone on campus for one last group meal.

One last dome picture as we were leaving campus

Then Kristin, Garrett, Lee and I all drove back to Chicago together.  We stopped by to see the guys' good friend Patrick and met his wife, Jenny Nicole, and dog, Bacon.

Finally, Lee and I meet up with Lauren and Adam Allen.  They were so gracious to let us stay the night with them.  We have missed them so much!!  It's still hard to believe Adam and Lee have known each other for 15+ years!

Monday morning arrives and we are so sad it's our last day of vacation but we make the most of it.  We walked all around Lincoln Park, Millennium Park, and Grant Park.

Here's me at "the bean"

Then we drove to the Hancock building and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  It was so good!  After lunch we went up to the 96th floor of the Hancock building (world's 5th tallest building).

Here's what the view looked like!

Then we walked to Navy Pier.  Oh what a walk and a blister I still have...haha!

Finally we headed to the airport to go back to Tucson.  We had an awesome long weekend!!  Hope you did too!

Lacey's 25th Birthday Party

We have been so busy lately with going out of town, catching up at work, and then going out of town again that I haven't had a chance to catch you all up on the past couple of weeks.

My sweet husband threw me a birthday party for my 25th birthday the weekend before last.  It was such a blast and I never expected so many people to show up.  So, THANKS to all of you who came over to celebrate with me and a special thanks to Theresa for baking me a cake with homemade icing and cupcakes.

We cooked a ham and potato casserole and had so much fun with everyone while watching the Cats pull out a victory and the Irish pull out another close game!

Here's a picture of the guys watching the game and the girls sitting at the table talking!

Most of the girls!

The rest of the girls...Eva "the cook", Chrissy and Camille "the cleaners" and me "birthday girl"

Finally, the awesome birthday cake Theresa made me.  It was delicious!!

The Lord has blessed with such wonderful friends in Tucson.  I am one lucky girl to have the best friends in the world!