I'm a slacker, week old photos, JR's back & 13 facts!

Hi gang!

I know I've written (and said) this a million times, but on days like today I really do have The Carpenter's song "Rainy Days and Mondays" going through my head. It was hard to get out of bed this morning, yes?

I'm really sorry for not posting a blog last week. I was traveling from AZ to IA on Monday and then just got bogged down Tuesday and by Wednesday I'd forgotten about it! These days if I don't write down what I have to do, I forget about it. I'm the queen of sticky notes. My desk is covered with them and they're all over our house. Sometimes I stick sticky notes on my body because I think of something I need to do or someone I need to call, and if I don't write it down right when I think of it I will forget by the time I get to the room where the task needs to be done. Seriously! Oye.

My quick trip to Arizona to see my folks was great. Too short, but great. It happened to time out perfectly with my cousin Nicole and her family visiting from California, and my Aunt Nancy visiting from Nebraska. Without further delay - here is the fun in the sun from the Southwest!

We made the drive to Tuscon to my cousin Sean's house - that's where my cousin Nicole's family was staying. These are Nicole's sons Calvin and Mac. They spent hours in the pool playing basketball. I miss having this much energy!

The girls on the other hand, stayed on dry land. My cousin Sean's daughter Sophie, and Nicole's daughter Hannah spent some time on the swing set instead!

Nicole, me, my mom, my cousin Sean's wife Katrina, my Aunt Shelia

This cracked me up ... somewhere Mac had seen pics of stone therapy treatments offered in spas, so he asked us to put rocks on his back as he dried off in the sun. I miss being a kid!

I didn't spend much time in the sun while hanging with the entire family, but the next day my mom snuck up and snapped this photo of me in my pajamas eating breakfast on my parents' patio. This is the life! I think this is the day a snowstorm hit Iowa. My dad LOVES checking the weather in the heartland everyday, and of course reporting it to me!

We are really bad about asking people to take pictures of us as a family, so my mom has a growing collection of photos of us at various airports. This is me with my dad at Sky Harbor in Phoenix. Pretty exciting, huh? We even managed to have fun here, believe it or not! I also have some wonderful photos of my dad with his three siblings, but I am having a heck of a time downloading tonight. I'll add those later if the computer allows.

We are celebrating here at Channel 13 because one of our favorite people is back to work starting today. Please take the time to drop Jeriann and note and let her know you're glad to see her on the tube. Ed is taking some much deserved time off, so we are blessed with JR working nights with us this week. Welcome back, Jeriann ... we missed you!

Finally, check out the new addition to our website "13 Fascinating Facts." You'll find them by clicking "As Seen on 13" at the top of the Homepage. Then scroll down and click on "Channel 13 News Team." I'm having a great time learning news things about my colleagues and I think you'll get a kick out of these lists, too.

Have a great week!