soccer star

one of my favorite things is finding my kids' drawings all over the house...all the time. kai must have drawn this one when i wasn't looking. i found it under the table. it made me smile. i'm pretty sure it's him since he is going to be a "brazil soccer star" for halloween.

mother-daughter book club

sadie and i decided to start a mother-daughter book club. for some reason, i was a little nervous about heading this up. i always tell sadie that if the only reason for not doing something good is because you are a little scared, you should do it anyway. it's called courage. i'm glad to say i followed my own parenting advice and sadie and i hosted our first meeting last night. it ended up being really fun. we had desert, made bookmarks, and had a great discussion about the book. i was impressed with the girls' addition to the discussion, they had a lot to say, and some really great insights. i'm so glad i have sadie and i think, if we can keep it going, it will be a fun girls night with her each month.

way to go candy chick!!!

(this is sadie in front of her school.  the new mural helps, but we still think it looks like an old church.)

sadie was so brave.  she ran for student council officer at her school and won!  she is now the student council secretary.    fifth and sixth grade students could run for an office by giving a speech.  sadie said her knees where shaking as she gave her speech--"the top ten reasons i should be on student council".  she had ten small posters that she held up one at a time.  each poster had a candy bar/reason....so #10...i'll be a "lifesaver" with my positive attitude.  #9...i am one of the best organizers in the entire "milky way".   #8...i am smart, not an "airhead".  #7...i have "good and plenty" of school spirit.  #6...i will do my best to make this year "whoppers" of fun.  and so on.

sadie actually got pretty frustrated with dave and me because we were having a little too much fun making up reasons.  abe even piped in with the reason: i think boys are "sweettarts"....she did not appreciate the humor and it did not make it to the final 10.  at recess one of the sixth grade boys found her and said, "hey, aren't you the candy chick?  you're all fives!"  

once she won the first round, which ensured that she would be one of the four officers, she had to go around to the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes and give a second speech.  sadie did not want to be known as the "candy chick," so the next time around, she opted to do a "regular" speech.  sadie is the only 5th grader that won so she will be working with three 6th graders as officers. way to go sadie...we know you will help make the school a better place.  we are proud of your courage!!!

standing on the corner in winslow, arizona

here is a picture of dave at work in winslow.  abe was surprised that dave works in a "mud building".  dave is working with the the native american population.  he gets to do a little bit of everything, working in the urgent care, clinics, and the hospital.  he is really enjoying this experience.  he likes learning about the culture and working with the underserved.  the kids and i have taken a couple trips to winslow.  there are some pretty cool sites during the 50 minute commute.  

i loved this view point sign. you would never know that 

it leads to these amazing water falls.

they are much bigger 

than they seem in these pictures.

dave and abe had a good time exploring meteor crater.

anyway, just wanted to share a little bit of our az experience.

man-tagged

my friend becky man-tagged me. this means i get to answer these questions about dave. lucky for me, i like to talk about him. and anything i say here, is nothing compared to what has been said during residency/medical school ladies' night out (not by me of course:) so here it goes, i hope somebody learns something about my cute hubby...
(dave is in the middle of his little bro & sis) (dave and his bro. joe--so stylish!)

What is your husbands name? david thomas tullis
How long have you been married? almost 12 years.
How long did you date? depends on who you ask. we tend to differ on a few of the details, so here is a pretty detail-less version: we met when we were fourteen. we had a lot of fun in high school (plus some drama). we wrote about four times while he was on his mission. he got home and much to my surprise, we dated for about six weeks and then we were engaged...pretty much married the next day.
How old is he? 33
Who eats more sweets? i converted dave to a sweets-lover. when he got home from his mission he seemed to only eat granola, but now he can sniff out treat with the best of them.

Who said I love you first? dave. age 17. right before i had a sort-of date with someone else. one of my favorite memories.
Who is taller? dave- by four and 3/4 inches. i always thought we were the same size, but we're not.
Who can sing the best? dave is definitely a more exciting singer. he has made up some pretty silly songs. abe thinks they are hi-larious!
Who is smarter? dave is smarter, but i am wiser.
Who does the laundry? me. dave helps if the laundry pile is taking over the floor or if he runs out of garments...or if he can tell i just need help.
Who pays the bills? right now, dave. i did all through residency, but now that he is done with residency he wanted a shot at it. he keeps asking me to take it back, but he is doing so well...spreadsheets and everything. it's funny how differently we go about it.
Who mows the lawn? um, yard work is not really our strong point. when we had a lawn, it was whoever needed to feel like they accomplished something. now our yard has "natural" landscaping. it's great when it comes to yard work, but i am realizing i miss grass!
Who cooks dinner? both of us... i cook dinner, dave creates dinner. i cook so people aren't hungry and so we can eat dinner together. dave cooks more as a form of art. i really like when dave cooks.
Who drives? mostly dave.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? we like to be on the same page, so we are both quick to say we're sorry. i appreciate that dave will keep talking to me until i feel like things are completely resolved.

Who kissed who first? dave kissed me ...we were sixteen...leaning against his yellow volkswagen bug...under the stars... about 2 am. i think he got grounded.

(this is a picture of our first, crazy date...dave picked me up in an old station wagon, decorated with fish and made us wear life jackets)

Who asked who out first? pre-mission: dave asked me to a dance in high school. post-mission: his mom called and asked my mom if he could take me out. he was at lake powell but wanted to make arrangements to take me to Les Miserables for my birthday. i was already going, so we hooked up later.
Who wears the pants? i asked the kids and abe said, "totally mom and max". i think dave tries to make me feel like i'm in charge, but really we are pretty good partners in crime.

The rules for this tag: answer questions about your spouse, list names of people you are tagging in your post, then leave a comment on their blog letting them know they've been tagged.

i am tagging becca and holly, both in-laws.

twelve years ago

dave serenaded me with his guitar last night as i went to sleep. i woke up to the sound of him playing with the boys in the other room. both good sounds. i'm glad when he asked me to marry him twelve years ago (today) i said yes. this morning he told me he asked one of his hopi patients if we could be adopted into their tribe, so we could have a hopi marriage ceremony and he could marry me again. the patient said sometimes they do that...and that they believe marriage lasts forever, so he might want to reconsider. dave smiled as he recounted the interaction. forever is ok with us.