today was a family day...all day.

Brando-commando had a client in town that he was supposed to be busy with all day but as of yesterday the client had to cancel so spouse suggested a little family get-a-way. I LOVE get-a-ways!

we decided to head up to Flagstaff and play in the snow. our goal was to leave at 9:30am and we pulled out at 9:34am four minutes past schedule, not bad.

we get a whopping three miles from home when all of the sudden the Phoenix Po Po are riding our tail, sirens in all. Great. We get pulled over because I forgot to renew the tags on the van. Cool cop, no ticket and luckily he didn't see the warrant for my arrest on his screen. This little stint was followed by many, many questions about what happens when one gets pulled over, what happens when one gets arrested, what happens when the Po Po uses their guns...you know all the usual questions by two inquisitive little boys.

rest of the 2.5 hr drive no problems. except for the fact that Bosman must have asked 127 times "when are we gonna be there?" followed by "are we there yet?" I answered no and not yet while reading my Going Rogue book and spouse listened to his headphones.

the weather? perfect. Brando-commando and I wore only t-shirts and pants no jackets, kids wore light jackets. the sun was out, no wind. it was a perfect day, no frigid temps.

the sledding was awesome! i'm not sure who had more fun...me or the kids. going down the hills i felt like a five year old. it was great.

the boys had a snow ball fight. they built a "snow fort" and sled down hills about 217 times.

no traffic heading up and minimal traffic coming home. on the way home the sun was starting to set over the mountains to the west of the highway. as i watched it go down i couldn't help but to think of what tomorrow holds for so many in the world. what babies would be born, who would get married, who would find a long lost friend. then i thought about those who would find out tomorrow would be the worst day of their lives. those that would loose a spouse or child to death, those that would loose a job, a career, those that would be diagnosed with cancer or have a tragic accident. for those people i said a silent prayer. my thoughts went back again to the sun. the constant rising and setting of the same sun. it was a good reminder that God is constant. despite the joys and sorrows of this mortal life, we are blessed with reminders that God has not deserted us nor will he. as the sun shines so will our prayers be answered, in one way or another. i must ever be grateful for each sunset because that means it's almost the start of a new day or a day to make anew. make amends. make better. a new day to heal from tragedy. to become stronger. if nothing else, each sunrise and sunset is one more day on this earth with my family. the desert looked picturesque with the sun setting, it was hope for a new tomorrow for so many across this earth.

then we got home and it was time for saturday night baths...for tomorrow is church, early and pops will not be around to help out. it should be interesting but i'm excited for early church it's been a long time.

all-in-all a successful day spent as a family.

tomorrow i plan to post the pictures