What Are The Odds? I Don't Do Math Well.

Picture this....(I sound like Sophia from the Golden Girls)...Sicily...1931...No really, it's a beautiful July summer weekend and I'm heading to Freedom Fun Station with the kiddos as we meet up with some friends.  There are soccer sign-ups out front, so I take a gander, as I plan on getting Jake signed up for the fall..which by the way, he continues to amaze me with every game this season.

So, I come across a reindeer (not real of course, even though I certainly do believe).  We take a gander over to the big reindeer and see that Santa's Reindeer have been kidnapped. Yes folks, it true. All of the reindeer are gone and Santa needed our help in finding them so Christmas would not be ruined this year.  Basically, you had to take a picture of it and send it to him.  So, since I always keep my camera in my big ol' Coach bag, I took it out, herded the kids together and sent in this pic.

Yes, we found Vixen!  Well, much to my surprise....OK, I'll admit, I seriously had a gut instinct we'd win this whole time, well..we actually won the North Pole Experience to visit Santa's Workshop, along with a fabulous prize package. So, we won a trip to Greer, AZ.  We get to take Santa's Candy Cane Express up to Santa's Workshop and build toys for other children with Santa and the Elves.  Then we get a tour of his workshop and go back to the log cabin where Mrs. Claus will read stories with us and we can drink hot chocolate.  There are also sleigh rides and just a good ol' traditional Christmas environment.  You should really go to the site to see for yourself as I can't express how excited I am for the kids...well and me too.  Along with this fabulous trip, we also won some other cool prizes like:

• Arizona Diamondbacks Gift Bags
• Annual Membership to the Phoenix Zoo
• Annual Membership to the Reid Park Zoo
• Weekend passes to Sunsplash and Cracker Jax in Phoenix
• Movie Certificates, Restaurant Certificates, Toy Goodies from a lot of vendors all of Arizona

It really is an amazing package.

So, now it looks like we will be on azTV - AM Arizona on Thursday, November 5th where the kids will meet Santa and Mrs. Claus and we'll be talking about winning this grand prize.  Then, we head to Stuffington Bear Company in Phoenix on November 7th where we will get the keys to Santa's Workshop and our goodie bag.  There will be additional media there as well.  So, this is my family's 15 minutes of fame.  It will be fabulous!

And I say, what are the odds...9 families in Arizona win this great trip...My family winning....you do the math!

Let's Get This Blog Rolling Already!

Well, I decided that it is time to get on board with this blogger stuff. I'm very familiar with how blogs work, hell, I even teach faculty at the college where I work how to create and use blogs, but I've never felt I had time to do it myself. To be honest with you, I've been torn in two. I have an alter ego personality. My first personality was really for educational purposes. I would post my blog about educational technology, online learning, teaching tips, but my heart was really telling me that I want to share information about being a Mom, being a police officer's wife...and really what a joy and struggle it all has been. So, when times are challenging, I always say it's about ME, Stella....and always about the beach..my happy place.

So, for my birthday weekend this year (end of August), my DH and I decided to go visit his Mom in Virginia Beach..without the kids.

It was fabulous to get away for a few days and soak up some sun. My MIL lives just a few blocks from the main Virginia Beach strip. We had fun riding beach bikes, which is not your typically sporty mountain bike..and yes, I almost wiped out. But, zooming on the beach boardwalk with a beach bike is amazing. We ate some fresh fish and got our fill of the beach. Just wish I could have spent one more day to myself relaxing near the shore.

I suppose I'll have to wait until next year..which if DH and I actually survive together, it will be our 10 year anniversary. So, of course, after we returned back to dry Arizona, I had to grab the kids and take them up to my brother and SIL for Labor Day Weekend.

They have a gorgeous pool, in which I am very jealous. But, we got to spend some quality time together. Mama at the beach the weekend before, the family all together Labor Day Weekend, well, almost all together..DH had to work...did I mention he is a police officer? So, when times get a tough...Stella is always about the beach!

Come back and visit, as I will be detailing you on the "Santa's Wonderland" Trip my family won!