St. Patrick's Day

As usual, St. Patrick's Day has fallen during Spring Break for the kids. They were kind of bummed out because Grammie (my mom) tends to come and visit at this time of year and always does something special for the holiday. This year she came about a month earlier. So it was up to me to make it a fun holiday. I decided in the spirit of my mom and St. Pat we would have a picnic, with as much green food and I could find in my house. We had green grapes, green jello cups, snow peas, sour cream and onion pringles and I made us PB&J sandwiches. We packed up and headed to Fountain Hills where they dye the water in the fountain green on this day every year. The kids loved to see the green water shooting up into the air and they fed the ducks and played on the playground.

We were lucky enough to find a shady spot for our picnic and we met some people with a very friendly dog, who the kids were quite taken with. Just a side note, my kids tend to be timid around dogs and not one of them was even alittle bit scared. The dog loves kids and was very gentle with all of them.

We had a great time and the day wrapped up with sleepovers with their cousins. The girls at my house and the older boys at their house. The girls, Jared and I made green cupcakes for dessert to round out the tribute to St. Patrick. All in all fun was had by all, especially Austin. He loved being outside and watching his sister and brothers play.

Growing Up (A Funny Story)

So, anyone who knows my dad knows that he is quite the storyteller. I was a very gullible child and believed a lot of what my father told me. My daughter, on the other hand, not so much. While my parents were here visiting my dad told my kids a story about me and my brother, I don't remember all of the details but it was quite a tale. Ashleigh and Jordan were pretty interested in what Papa was saying and when it was all done Jordan asked who that happened to. Here is the funny part of the story, Ashleigh's response to Jordan was "You believed that?", then she turned to my dad and said "I'm so glad I'm an adult now". It may not sound funny to read it, but to hear it and see her mannerisms it was hysterical. My parents and I were laughing so hard Michael came in from the other room to see what was so funny. It will be a moment in Ashleigh's life that we will laugh about from years to come.

Ashleigh gets Glasses

I can't remember if it was before or after Christmas vacation, but Ashleigh came home from school and said that her seat was in the back of the class and she couldn't read the spelling words on the board. Her teacher moved her to the front of the room and I made and eye appointment. Sure enough, she has her mother's eye sight. Not only does she need glasses to see the board, but she needs them all of the time. She chose her frames all by herself and she did a great job. She looks so grown up in them and she is amazed at how much better she can see things now. She got a neutral color frame, but she still sometime thinks that her clothes need to match the glasses.

Grammie and Papa Visit!!

All month long we were counting down until my mom and dad arrived for a visit from Vermont. We were all very excited to have them here. It was to be my dad's first time meeting Austin in person and the kids were looking forward to some special time with there grandparents. Austin and Papa hit it off right away. Austin was all smiles for his Papa, it was so fun to watch how excited he would get when my dad would walk into the room. A bond was definitely created between those two. We had a great time with them in the short time that they were here.
I was able to get some shopping in and spend a gift card I have had for quite some time. It is so much easier to shop and try things on when you have some extra hands and eyes to watch Jared and Austin.
I also was able to put my Amazing Dad to work. He turned a closet into a pantry with built-in shelves and did some work in our bathroom as well. I am so excited and so grateful for his time and great work. Thanks Dad, your the best!!


We let Ashleigh and Jordan take a day off from school to spend some quality time with Grammie and Papa. They were very excited and we had a fun day. We started by hiking the Merkle Trail at Usery Pass Park and then we played at a playground and had a picnic lunch.



We came home and rested for a little while then headed out again, this time to take pictures of the kids. I am now kicking myself that I didn't have my parents jump into the pictures at all. I can't believe I don't have any pictures of all the kids with my parents from this visit.




















Later that night was Jordan's first ever Pinewood Derby. He had a lot of fun making his car with the help of his dad and mom, even Papa helped out with it. He did a great job and had lots of fun racing his car. He won half of his races and was a great sport. He congratulated every scout when the race was over, whether he was racing them or not. He won the Best Sportmanship Award and he was very proud of his Ben 10 car. We were all very proud of him.


The next day mom and dad headed home. They were leaving 80 degree temps and headed back to enjoy a Nor'easter headed their way. We loved having them here and were sad to see them go so soon. The visit flew by and we are looking forward to the next time they are here and hope it can be a longer stay next time. We love you Mom and Dad, thanks for the work and memories!

Family Fun

I can't believe it has been a month since my last post. We have had a lot going on and with a little one around I find it hard to do much more than check my email unless I am lucky enough to get him to take a nap longer than 20-30 minutes at a time. Austin is actually awake right now, but Ashleigh is home and always eager to play with him.

For all of you who are not familiar with Arizona in the winter, it is much like autumn in the Northeast, except that it isn't as cold. We had some fun raking the leaves in our yard into a few big piles and before we loaded them into the garbage bin the kids got to jump and play in them. Might I add that we only have palm trees in our yard, the leaves are thanks to our neighbors tree. The kids had a great time and it reminded me of my own childhood.

Our Growing Baby Boy Update

I can't believe that it has been just over 6 months already. The time seems to just fly by. Austin is growing so fast and he is a complete joy to have in our home. He brings laughter and smiles to everyone who sees him. He is now 6 1/2 months old and yesterday he had is well checkup at the doctors office. He is 18 lbs. 14 oz. (50-75th percentile) and he is 27 1/2 inches long (75th %). He is sitting up on his own and has been since before Christmas. He is rolling all over the place. I put him down on the floor to play and he is all the way across the room as soon as I turn my head. He still has no teeth, not that he isn't trying, the poor kid has a river running out of his mouth most days. The doctors said his gums are smooth and there aren't any teeth even close to coming through. He had four shots and I have to brag on him for a moment, he didn't let out a scream until the 3rd shot was in. I also have to give kudos to the nurse, she did a great job. Austin also had a breakthrough a few weeks ago and we are finally doing the baby food thing on a consistent basis. It is great, he loves just about everything that I give him, except for the rice cereal (he can't stand the stuff). We are working on drinking juice and water from a sippy cup and we are hoping that he will start sleeping through the night very soon.

Chillin out in the cabin while the rest play in the snow

Hangin out with cousin Josh

A Hike in the Desert

Last week a friend called to let me know about a toddler hike that was being held on Saturday at Usery Pass Park in East Mesa. It sounded like a lot of fun and since the weather has been AMAZING lately I thought it would be a fun thing to do as a family. As it turned out Michael was helping with an Eagle Project, but the kids and I thought it would be fun. The path that the hike would be on was accessible to strollers so taking Austin wouldn't be difficult. We filled water bottles and got some snacks and headed out for the morning. When we got there some friends from church were there also. The kids were excited to have friends to hang out with while on the 1 mile hike. It was a pretty big group of people there. The hike was geared toward 3-6 year olds, but the older kids had just as much fun. Ranger B told them about the animals that live in the park and about some of the plant life as well. One of the stops along the way was Rattlesnake Alley and the ranger taught the group about what to do if you ever see a rattlesnake. The 3 S's are Stop, Spot and Slowly go around. The kids learned that if you don't bother a rattlesnake it won't bother you. The ranger then told us that it was still too early in the day and cool for a snake to be out. In all of his morning hikes he has never seen a snake, but when we got to the end of the hike someone heard a rattle. Upon looking to the side of the trail he saw the snake slither away from the trail and curl up on a rock under a bush. All of the kids got to see the snake, from a safe distance, and we all put into effect the 3 S's that we had learned earlier. The kids then received their Jr. Ranger badges and our hike was complete. Fun was had by all and I am looking forward to doing more of those in the future. They have a nighttime hike that you take a flashlight along with you and see what all of the creatures do in the dark. Sound like a great adventure to me. For info on any other activities at Usery Mountain Park go to www.maricopa.gov/parks or check out this blog for great events happening in and around Mesa.