Just hanging out with the fam

Tap with the kids smiling his favorite way...ha, ha!
Kate with the Addie and the new addition to the Faulkner family, Abbie

Amy snuggled up with Maya all ready for bed with her new bunny rabbit :0)

Christmas has been super fun with our grown up nieces and nephew. We have enjoyed their visit and really loved having them come spend the night with Aunt Amy and Uncle Tappan! A new thing for everyone since we live in Farmington now!

A white Christmas...finally!

Kate, Elaine and Brendan with Jack
Tappan got a snowball in the face! Ouch...
My mom with baby Maya

We finally got a white Christmas in Farmington! It seems that every year we get it after or we barely miss it when we would make the long trek back to Southern California, but not this year. Here we are with my family playing in the snow in our backyard. 

Sherman gets a bath...or shower it would seem!

Well, Sherman is now 8 months old and as big as Jack our 6 year old dog. Sherman needs baths quite frequently because he cannot quite make it until we get home from work if you know what I mean. But our new house has a great feature which is a walk in shower with a shower sprayer that comes right off. Perfect for washing the doggies. he-he. Sherman walks right in and as you can see enjoys his bath. What a turkey...

We moved!

The dogs in our backyard
The front of our house
Our living room
The doggies on their new beds
Sherman in his favorite place--on the stairs!
Well, in late July we got a job offer in our hometown of Farmington, NM. So a few weeks later we began the process of moving over 700 miles across country. I got a job teaching 7th grade at Mesa View Middle School. The kids are great and it is a beautiful school. My school window overlooks the Colorado Mountains which are covered in snow right now. I love it! Tappan is working as a production engineer at Conoco Phillips and he is enjoying his job as well. We bought a house about 1 block from my parents. It is a cute little 2 story adobe house with an amazing backyard! We can't wait for summer to start entertaining. Sherman has grown to a huge dog. He is now 75lbs. We recently went through puppy class and he is really trying but he is secretly related to Marley. (If you haven't seen the commercials yet, just wait!) Our inlaws fondly refer to him as Little Hitler. In all seriousness, he is such a cute dog that has brought me a lot of laughter and joy! He is just a little hyper. Isn't that what life is all about...? Hope you enjoy some pics of our house. I will work on more and send some more soon!

Hawaii 2008

We just had a wonderful trip to Oahu and Maui! Tappan's parents joined us there which made it even more fun. We started in Oahu and saw Waikkiki Beach, Pearl Harbor and the North Shore. Then we went to Maui and stayed for about a week. We went to the top of the volcano, ate at Mama's Fish House, went to a luau, snorkeled, and just laid on the beach. We had a great time!  

4th of July Fun

We are desperately trying to take a fun picture in the backyard with the dogs...it did not work too well. I guess there is a reason this is difficult. This is right before our little 4th of July BBQ which was so much fun. The kids had a great time with the sparklers and of course, Addie!

The first summer trip to Norman, OK

It has been such a busy month! The first trip was to Norman, OK. I spent some time with my girlfriends then with my family. My parents also drove out to meet us and we had a great time. My nieces and nephew are getting so big I cannot believe it. Here baby Maya is wanting big brother Brendan's helmet for herself. Then the other is my mom with the kids.

Meet Sherman!

We got a new puppy last weekend and we named him Sherman Marshall Souther! He is quite a crazy little thing. He is about 9 weeks old and so puppy brained! One second he is clumsily tripping over his paws, the next he is bounding through the house and pouncing on anything that catches his eye. What a cutie!

Day at the Beach!

Here is a fun recent trip to Carpinteria. This beach is a little gem that we found about 2 years ago. We first came to camp here and have been coming ever since because we discovered a dog beach close by! This trip we saw all kinds of sealife washed up onshore which is always fun being a Texas girl. I love the ocean and everything in it. The dogs think so too. Jack runs right into the waves and gets sopping wet and then runs around and digs in the sand making a complete mess of himself. Addie gets wet too but then when she gets cold it is time to head for warmth in the nearest blanket or lap.

New Year's Eve Photos

These are some pics of our great trip home again at Christmas. We stayed with my family and then went to Santa Fe for New Year's with Tappan's parents. We stayed at the Inn and Spa at Loretto thanks to my family's referrals. It was so beautiful but cold! Burr. Tap and I are standing out on a balcony overlooking the state capitol with luminarias in the background. Then the top one is right before our delicious dinner New Year's Eve at the hotel's restaurant. Most of my New Year's Eves have been anticlimatic, but this one was an unexpected fun! We rang in the New Year in the hotel lobby sipping wine and listening to an acoustic guitar player. Very very Santa Fe...:)

Thanksgiving 2007

On hopefully a much lighter note, here are some pics of our Thanksgiving vacation. We had such a great time and feel so blessed by our family. They are always so much fun to be araound. Here is a silly pic of Tap and our nieces, Kate & Elaine. The kiddos absolutely love uncle Tappan. Also one of my mom and baby Maya. As for the game of Chickenfoot. Well Addie just had to be a part in the middle of the table. She is a character in her old age!