Nothing could be better than a three-day weekend after the chaos of the beginning of the spring semester. While at my favorite munchkins house babysitting on Wednesday night, I was reminded that it was time for our monthly pajama party. So tonight’s plan will be mac-n-cheese, pajamas, kiddie movies, and some fun with photo booth.  Yeah, I’m that lucky.

Zac sent me this pic message today. It truly sums up one of the greatest struggles in my life… to be warm or to be understood. Most of the time, I just send gibberish texts. What can I say, my digits are important to me.

You know you’ve lived in Flagstaff too long when these sights no longer seem out of the ordinary.

Snowblowing off the roof of Target.

Parking at Wal-Mart.

Snow piled up at least 12 feet high in a cul-de-sac.

It’s not very often that my dad and I get to spend a huge amount of time together, but thanks to my mom’s recent trip to South Dakota, he’s been hanging with me up in Flagstaff this weekend.  We’ve done our best to fill his short time here with fun times and yet still remain low-key enough that he can consider his stay up north a vacation.  After a long drive and a few short stops in Phoenix on Friday (I mean who could be in the valley and NOT stop at Cabela’s???), we arrived in Flagstaff on one of the coldest nights of the winter.  I’m sorry, but telling me that it’s -10 degrees windchill doesn’t inspire joy and happiness.  Is that just me?

Saturday morning we worked to get my car started and unfrozen from its parking space and moved to campus before lunch at New Frontiers and a trip to the mall.  Next, we met up with Cory to see the matinee showing of Valkyrie.  I have to confess I was not excited to check out ‘Couch-Jumpin’ Cruise’s newest cinematic masterpiece but was pleasantly surprised that after it was all said and done Mr. Scientology didn’t detract from a really great movie.  After the movie, we met up with J-Lo and had dinner together before heading back to hang out at my place.

We slept in Sunday morning before we headed to church.  After spending such a long time searching for a new church home, it meant a huge deal to be able to show him where my new place of worship was. Strangely enough, dad and I wound up at the same Mexican restaurant as J-Lo after going to separate churches. (I still believe he was stalking us despite his constant denial.) Sunday night we hung out with Cory who made stir fry, and after a few hours of an NCIS marathon, we ended up watching both installments of Grindhouse, Planet Terror and Death Proof. (What could possibly be better than watching exploding zombies with your dad and boyfriend?!?!  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.)

Yesterday while I ran into work to check in and meet our new staff member, dad headed downtown for a haircut and beard trim.  A couple of hours later we met up for lunch before spending the rest of the day hanging out and enjoying each others’ company and a House and iPod loading marathon.  Finally, we had dinner at one of my favorite Thai food places where we treated our impeding colds with spicy food.

Dad left town today in time to pick mom up from her return flight, and I can’t help but be a tish sad that he had to go.  One of the hardest things about living in Flagstaff is living so far from those I care about the most.  But instead of dwelling on the small amount of time I get to spend with them, I prefer to relish what time I do have.  With a new year approaching, one of my resolutions needs to be to go home more often. Because even though it’s completely cliche’… Home truly is where the heart is.

Sunday is my grandma’s (my mom’s mom) 80th birthday, so my Dad and I dropped Mom off at the Mesa airport today to fly up and be with her family.  After a few brief stops to do a bit of post-holiday shopping (the sales really weren’t that great), Dad and I drove through day after Christmas traffic to get back to Flagstaff and find it exactly as I left it… snowy. (I couldn’t help but snap a picture with my phone of my neighbor’s buried car.)  Dad plans on staying with me until Mom flies home on Tuesday.  It should be a good time getting to hang out together for a few days without the rest of the family.  Now if I could just convince him to sleep in my room with the queen-sized bed and not the spare twin.

Merry Christmas!  I’m not sure when this post will actually see the light of day, but that really doesn’t matter when you can back publish posts, right?  I’m home in Willcox for the holiday season, and now more than ever there is really no other place I’d rather be.  I’ve been home since Saturday when my amazing brother drove all the way to Flagstaff (Thursday night) to bring me home since I can’t drive due to my awesomeness and ankle air cast.  Since I’ve been home I’ve been graced with the opportunity to see Hero and her lovely family, countless hometown friends, and my lifelong church family.  I forget sometimes what it’s like to be in this small town until we head to the grocery store and run into at least 4 or 5 people we know.  It’s in those ‘hello…catch up… hope to see you soon’ moments that I feel truly blessed to be a native of such a small community.

One of the highlights of my time home this Christmas was the annual church caroling session on Sunday night.  For the past five years, my mom and I have bundled up and met a handful of our lifelong church friends at the church to carpool to the four nursing homes in town and the homes of our elderly and shut-in church members to sing our favorite carols to them.  I could pretend that my participation in this yearly activity is purely altruistic, but the truth is beyond making the elderly happy and getting to see them sing-a-long with just us, I go for two selfish reasons.   The first is to have the chance to stand beside my mom and sing.  There’s something almost magical about how family sounds together when they sing and living five hours away from mine limits the time that Mom and I get to sing together.

The second reason that I never miss these church outings is my dearest childhood friend, Kate.  I don’t know how to explain Kate but to say that she’s everything you’d want your daughter to grow up and be.  As a kid I knew Kate’s sister Leslie better than Kate because Kate was nine years older than me.  Leslie was just a year older than me and was born with Down’s Syndrome.  Of all the things Kate and I share a protectiveness and love for Leslie is atop the list.  The first few times Kate and I went caroling together it was because we both were home visiting family, however two years ago Kate moved home to be closer to Leslie which means I get to see her on more than just holidays.  Heck, she even cuts my hair now!

Caroling with Kate is an absolute joy.  Not just because she’s got an awesome voice and is fun to sing with, but because everything with Kate is just that much more fun when she’s there.  Things that normally would annoy us or upset us singularly seem funny when we’re together.  It’s like having a sister or kindred spirit who you don’t have to see everyday to feel close to, and no matter the activity, you’d both show up to just spend time together.  This year was no different.  From singing ‘Feliz Navidad’ and ‘Hit The Road, Jack’ in the back of her parent’s Explorer to sharing ancient stories of church follies, caroling with Kate, Leslie, their dad, Mom and Zac was two hours that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.

So on this Christmas morning, I’m happy.  Thankful for friends.  Blessed by family, and ecstatic to be home.  Merry Christmas to each and every one of you… I hope that you, too, are as blessed as I am.

These pictures have a hilarious story that goes along with them. One that I don’t quite have time to tell you today, but trust me you’ll crack up at it when I finally get to it. We’ve been buried for a few days, and Zac arrived on my doorstep to drive his crippled sister home for a week. I’m hoping to have the internet at my parent’s house to blog from. If not, I’ll catch you up when I get home. From the bottom of my heart, I hope each and everyone of you have an amazing Christmas.

Yesterday, the munchkins and parents came over after church for ‘Santa brunch’ as J called it and to exchange Christmas gifts. I had bought the girls adorable footie pajamas and Amare a musical vacuum cleaner. (Oh, yeah. I’m gonna be that person that buys the loud, obnoxious educational gifts for kids.) Then, because I wasn’t convinced that was enough, I made each of the kids cute lil fleece blankets for each of them. I wasn’t overly sure they’d like them, but after seeing them curled up with them as soon as brunch was over, I really had no doubt. Plus, aren’t these the cutest kids in the history of all cute kids.

I’ve always considered myself to be a math person, so I should have realized this bloggin’ everyday thing would eventually lead to a large number of posts.  However, when I noticed a few days ago that I was approaching the big 5-0-0, it was more of a suprise than it should have been.  Let’s not tell Mr. Laduke (my HS math teacher) that I’ve slipped so far down the arithmatic chain, k?  With my ankle propped up and icing (see, Mom, I am taking care of myself) I spent a few hours this evening reading back again through the last year and a half of my life, and as much as I’m still Laurel, I find hope in the growth and change that has happened.  So to commemorate this slightly momentous posting occasion, I thought I’d share back with you five of my favorite/truest/funniest posts of our time together.

5)  Happy Birthday, Spacewolf!  (Zac’s 25th Birthday video)

4) My mom’s love of telling time, my dad’s ADD confessions, and Zac’s pranks… humor… and awesomeness.

3)  The time I was called a lesbian, saw Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, John Mayer, Ingrid, the Crows and Matty Nay to name a few, fed the masses, begged my bffs take over, and celebrated my 27th in style.

2) Written back at the beginning of the great CaresTeam departure/Laurel moving out on her own.

Change is still headed my way. I’m still gonna have moments of complete and utter collapse, and what needs to happen in the next few months will still overwhelm me. But, I’ve stopped playing the reality peek-a-boo game because I know that time marches on whether or not you want it to. For now, let’s go ahead and schedule a time this fall where we can all sit back and laugh at my drama queen distress today. We’ll watch the Arizona sun set as we sip iced tea, and I won’t be offended when you remind how we all knew deep down… it would be okay.

Say it with me now… you were right. It was/ok better than ok.

1) The great Charlie abduction, ransom note, detective work, and New World Order video.

It’s funny. Usually by this time in the year, I’ve got a peppermint mocha in my hand, and Christmas music blaring from all nearby speakers. Sure, my house is decorated for the holidays and pretty stinkin’ cute if I say so myself. My shopping is all done, and my Christmas cards are ready to mail. But beyond my repeated watchings of Elf (my favorite Will Ferrell movie) and without the presence of that white, flaky stuff (snow for all of you in the rest of Arizona), I’m just not feeling the season yet. It really doesn’t help either that the stores started playing holiday tuneage after Halloween. I mean I love ‘I’ll be home for Christmas’ but have no desire to sing it seven weeks before I’ll actually be home. So today’s musical offering or early Christmas present is the playlist that is currently filling the musical spaces of my life. Maybe by next week, we’ll get to talk about the joys of Christmas music and singing carols, hopefully:)

David Archuleta- Crush: Don’t hate. There’s a reason this kid was the American Idol runner-up. “Do you catch a breath when I look at you? Are you holding back like the way you do? ‘Cause I’m trying, trying to walk away. But I know this crush ain’t goin’ away.”

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Missy Higgins – Where I Stood:  “And I won’t be far from where you are if ever you should call. You meant more to me then any one I’ve ever loved at all. But you taught me how to trust myself . And so I say to you, this is what I have to do.”

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Kanye West – Heartless: Kanye is 2008′s ambassador to the 80s. “In the night I hear them talk. The coldest story ever told. Somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul to a woman so heartless. How could you be so heartless?”

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Jennifer Hudson – Spotlight: (GO WATCH the video.  NOW.) “Well, I don’t like living under your spotlight just because you think I might find somebody worthy.”

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Adele – Chasing Pavements: Oh, Adele.  If things go as I hope, this songbird will walk away with at least one Grammy this spring.  (fingers crossed) “Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere? Or would it be a waste even if I knew my place?”

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John Mayer – Clarity/Lost Remix: Mayer covering Coldplay might be blasphemy to some but not me. “Just because I’m hurting doesn’t mean I’m hurt.  Doesn’t mean I didn’t get what I deserve. No better and no worse.”

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Estelle – American Boy: With just enough Kanye to make it right.  “I really want to come kick it with you.  You’ll be my American boy.”

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Ray LaMontagne – Let It Be Me: How can you not fall in love with this man’s voice… “That’s when you need someone, someone that you can call.  And when all your faith is gone, feels like you cant go on.  Let it be me.”

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Pink – Sober: Sure, she might beat the crap out of you in a dark alley.  But the emotion in her voice while she did it would so make it worth it. “I’m safe up high.  Nothing can touch me. But why do I feel this party’s over?”

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As always Zac has great taste when it comes to music, and on my last voyage to the homeland of cotton, cows, and copper, he introduced me to one of my favorite new songs. I don’t listen to country music all day every day, but it’s hard to be in Willcox and not want to roll the windows down and drive slowly through town listening to country music. Something wonderful has been in the air as of late, and this song expresses that sentiment perfectly.  So listen! Watch!  Love!  Live!  And it’d sure be nice if you would roll with me.

Montgomery Gentry – Roll With Me

Wake up in the morning
Get to living my life
Making sure that Im all that I can be
Went to church on Sunday
There was a moment that came
I swear it was like the Lord spoke right to me

So now I’m slowing it down and I’m looking around
And I’m lovin’ this town and I’m doing alright
Aint’ worried ’bout nothing except the man I wanna be
I’m thinking it’s time to be livin’ the rhyme
When I’m singing a song about nothing but right
And it’d sure be nice if you would roll with me

Saw a kid last winter only twenty years old
Being laid to rest while his mom stood by his side
Sure was hard to watch those tears roll down her face
Made me think how we all just have our time

So now I’m slowing it down and I’m looking around
And I’m lovin/ this town and I’m doing alright
Aint’ worried ’bout nothing except the man I wanna be
I’m thinking it’s time to be livin’ the rhyme
When I’m singing a song about nothing but right
And it’s sure be nice if you would roll with me

Who knows whats ahead
I think I’d rather not know instead

So now I’m slowing it down and I’m looking around
And I’m lovin this town and I’m doing alright
Aint’ worried ’bout nothing except the man I wanna be
I’m thinking it’s time to be livin’ the rhyme
When I’m singing a song about nothing but right
And it’s sure be nice if you would roll with me

Here’s my mom on the couch, loving the way the Vicodin courses through her veins.  At any point in time during her recovery naps, you could find at least one animal sometimes 2-3 curles up beside her keeping watch.  My job… keep them from sleeping on her foot.

Six days ago I loaded my car with dirty laundry and driving music and headed south to be with my mom during and after her foot surgery. I had a plan of helping out around the house and cooking meals since mom would be semi-immobile for the first 72 hours. Little did I know that our church family and longtime friends would show my family the love that they did and that my purpose would be fellowship and not cooking. From day 1 of my mom’s recovery, there was no cooking that needed to be done at our house. Carli, a coworker of my brother’s and longtime family friend, had put together a huge tray of amazing enchiladas with the sweetest ‘instructions’ on the lid for my family to eat the day of the surgery. Saturday and Sunday brought more home cooked Mexican food from friends at my hometown church, and Monday a delicious apple tart was delivered to our doorstep. Rumor has it pizza made its way to our dinner table yesterday after I left, and chicken and dumplings will be delivered tomorrow. I’ve always felt blessed to have the loving friends and close-knit church family that I do in Willcox, but my gratitude today comes from the simple fact that even when I can’t be there, I know they are taking care of the people that mean the most to me.