test

This is a test because my blog was disabled for the past 3 days and afer extensive research I finally figured out how to get rid of all the error messages and refresh the pages. So here it goes>>>>....

It worked!!
This is the information that made it work again:

Clearing your cache:

1. On the internet Tools menu, click Internet Options. It will display first in the general tab.

2.On the General tab, click the Delete Files button. This will delete all the files that are stored in your cache.

3.Click OK or delete. This will delete your history and internet pages and passwords that your computer has memorized. It will not delete any files on computer hard drive.

I have to store this info on my blog because its happened to me twice now, the first time took a month to finally correct itself.

Happy New Year!!

We had an exciting weekend starting out with a party at the Riggs to ring in the New year. The Riggs are so awesome, they have invited us for a party on almost every holiday this past year. They set the clock back a couple hours so the kids could join in and yell and dance at the strike of "midnight." It was super fun. We ended up staying till midnight anyway because we wanted to play "ticket to ride" which is my favorite board game ever (even though Im really terrible at it). We had seriously overindulged ourselves on appetizers and mexican food. Well, Dan and I had gone to Baja fresh for lunch that day as well. There was all you can eat salsa including mango salsa so of I course I practically drank it. Not to mention 3 extra helpings of cilantro. Well after all this in one day a person's stomach can only handle so much. Needless to say I threw up 60 times that night after we went home. (Yes its true that jalepenos hurt just as much coming back up as going down.) I'm certain you wanted to know that. :)

Here's to ringing in the "new year!" Dan's toast was simply brilliant: "Heres to all the throwup and diarrhea we'll have to clean up after our kids this year"! :(

At the "strike" of midnight, of course Dan is being his usual goofy self.

So anyhow after all that we had planned to go sledding at Mt Lemmon on New Years Day but I wasn't sure if I could go because of my "weakened condition". Well I felt better by 11 am so away we went. We couldn't find a single place to buy sleds in our town so we ended up buying a dingy at Toys r us then we found another sled at a sports store for 20 DOLLARS!! I almost cried when I remembered all the sleds we gave to our neighbors after we left Canada. The dingy worked real well until it popped, but the bottom stayed full so it still worked. There was alot of families out sledding and it was simply perfect weather for it. Dan's thermometer watch read 51 degrees.

You can't tell from this picture but they actually got serious air on this jump. Poor little Maysa went flying about a foot into the air. I probably shouldn't tell this next little story but when Dan was pulling these kids in the dingy he pulled them around a corner so fast that the dingy flew up in the air and did a complete 360. Somehow the kids were still in when it landed and no one had hit their heads. Well Sierra begged him to do it again so he did with just her in this time and she ended up hitting her head on the ground but came up laughing and begging for more. Thats when mean mommy had to intervene. I prefer my kids without broken necks thankyou very much.

This sled was awesome, we had to let a bunch of other little kids on the hills use it too because they begged and we are nice.

This is the caravan going home, the dingy popped and all the kids mittens were completely soaked.

This tree and I hung out together all day, I had fun just watching the kids because I still wasn't feeling wonderful.

Maysa really wanted to take her snowman home with us.

Isn't she cute, she did a good job building this snowman all by herself. Elena had to wear my winter boots because she outgrew her old ones, I was shocked they stayed on just fine. She ended up wearing my gloves too because hers got all soaked.

A great day to start out a Happy New Year!

Ice skating

There is one major difference between public skating in Canada and Arizona. People in Canada can skate... real good. People in Arizona can't skate.... at all. It was so hilariously funny. Adults were tripping and falling all over the place. Dan and I felt rather rusty, we use to go public skating all the time, but obviously there in not a rink on every corner here in sunny AZ so we haven't been for a couple years. We took the kids ice skating on christmas eve. They have been begging us all year to go and we're so glad we finally got the chance to take them. Anyway here are some pictures of our fun adventure. I think we will make this a christmas eve tradition.

Maysa was hilarious on skates. She giggled the whole time. But hated hanging on to the push bar so we broke our backs holding her up. We got a push chair for her to sit on after a while and she liked that too.

The chair was fun to push, we use to take strollers in Canada but they didn't let us do that here.

I was suprised at how good Elena was. She hasn't been for a couple years but we use to take her a lot in Canada and she was getting pretty good at it. I'm glad she remembered. She just needs to learn how to stop.

This was Sierra's first time on single blade skates. She used the push bar for about 15 minutes then got braver and was able to go on her own. She really loved it and caught on quick. An older gentlemen crashed into her at one point but they were both going real slow and ended up laughing and smiling, so thats good. Helmets!

We practically had the rink to ourselves after a while because it seemed like people only lasted 10-15 minutes. It was called "Arcadia Ice Center" located near Scottsdale. We went to this one because it was the cheapest rink in the city for public skate, and they had skate rentals from toddler size 6 all the way up to big adult sizes. Can't wait to go again! :)

Brinton Family Christmas Letter

Brinton Family Christmas Letter

December 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

Our apologies if this letter has likely reached you after Christmas. In any case, Merry Christmas!or Happy New Year. We miss you all dearly and think about you often. This year has been successful for us. We are very happy living in Arizona. The constant sunshine on our backs is healing and brings us comfort and smiles all year round. We cannot imagine living anywhere else. We feel we have been spoiled living in the land of the sun.

This year has gone by too fast as we have dealt with some big changes. We finally bought and moved into our dream home. It was a nice big foreclosure which stayed empty for about 8 months before we moved in. We had to jump through some loop holes and red tape to get in, but we were blessed indeed and after 6 months of recovering every paper possible we finalized the deal. Upon moving in we hired painters to paint the entire house, then we ripped out carpets, reinstalled a couple kitchen counters and created a beautiful back yard. Then.... the scorpions came out of their hiding places and we declared war. We educated ourselves on every possible method of getting rid of these nasty rotten bugs and were able to achieve our goal through extreme measures. Including ripping out carpets and fans and plumbing to caulk and seal every nook and cranny that we possibly could. Dan sprayed chemicals and as of September 24 our house has been bug free. Thank heavenly day, because I almost moved back to Canada, it was truly terrifying.

On a happier note:

Dan has adjusted to his work with the extreme heat and says he really loves it. He only wishes he didn't have to work nights so much. After a year and a half he was released from his calling as Young Men's president. He now has more time to spend with his family and more importantly- time to sleep! In his spare time he enjoys playing games on the x-box, splits with the missionaries and sometimes basketball and softball. Dan is very motivated, he still has big dreams and big goals for the future.

I am busy busy busy with my 3 children and my calling in the primary presidency. In September I was invited to join the community orchestra and so have put all my spare time and efforts into studying violin. It has been the biggest challenge of my life but the joy I feel when we perform is indescribable. It is a wild dream that came true!

Elena is going to be 10 soon! She is progressing rapidly with her piano studies and doing excellent in her school work as well. She is very shy but her teachers always tell us what a sweet and remarkable personality she has. Her interest and knowledge in the gospel often takes us by surprise.

Sierra is just a 6 yr. old ray of sweet sunshine. She often has the ability to ease and calm the atmosphere with her loud and contagious laugh. She is very social and sometimes will get into trouble at school for being too much of a social bug. She is also outstanding in her school studies and can read remarkably well.

Little Maysa will be 3 soon. She still demands that she is just a teeny eensy baby and we need to treat her as such. She makes us laugh and smile constantly. As well as giving us mini heart attacks on a daily basis. About 6 months ago she got a hold of a pair of scizzors and literally cut her bangs right down to her scalp. Her bangs are still not grown back. People still ask me on a daily basis if she cut her own hair.

We have been very blessed with lots of visitors to our warm sunny home last winter and this winter. I hope everybody knows they are certainly welcome to come visit any time they desire. We LOVE guests and are more than thrilled to show you the beauties and wonders of Arizona.

May the Lord bless you in 2010. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, especially those dwelling in the lands of little sunshine and many blizzards. :)

Happy holidays!

Love,

The Brintons

Dan, Suzi, Elena, Sierra and Maysa