a day at the park

The weather this weekend has been beautiful!  We took the kids to one of their favorite parks, Tumbleweed in Chandler.  We played with balls, explored the playground and swung on tires.

It was so exciting to be outdoors again, I'm looking forward to lots of fun exploring nature this fall.

kindergarten graduate

Wow, our little boy has has graduated kindergarten.  Look at how grown up he is in this picture. Ethan, we love you and are so very proud of the creative, emotional and social learning you have done this year! Here are some snips from the "story book" he made in school. It was very cool that they stamped the date in the right corner of each one.

 My Story Book by Ethan

 This is a sunny day.  There is no school today! Ethan jumped off the treehouse onto the trampoline.

My Christmas break. Game time with my Dad.

It's Mother's Day.  I give a card to my Mom.

It is true what they say - it's definitely not the kindergarten of 25 years ago when I was in school.  All I remember doing is learning the alphabet and playing dress up (the enchanting chest of old clothes is one of the few memories I have from then). My son entered into kindergarten knowing his alphabet, colors, numbers up to 100 and finished having learned to write,  simple math skills and can read!  I couldn't believe it when they started as soon as half way into the school year reading.   There have been so many things to be excited, proud, teary over and of course we had our share of challenges.  We are all looking forward to a nice summer break and a bit more of a carefree existence. We plan on celebrating a job well done this weekend. Not sure how and in what way yet but, whatever we do, it'll be great to show him how proud we are.

family + art = mother's day happiness

I feel blessed and so very happy. I am so grateful for the loving attention and gratitude my guys gave me all weekend and today in celebration of Mother's Day. I love my family.

Thank you for gifting me ...

• some time with friends
• sleep until 8 a.m.
  
• breakfast and coffee
• handmade mugs and cards
  
• some time painting
  
• picnic lunch and visit to SMoCA with my husband and children
• vegetarian meal of eggplant, potato pancakes and black bean confetti salad. mmm good.
• hugs, kisses, and a (somewhat) break from bickering children.

Happy Mother's Day to all mom's out there (including my Mother, I love and miss you!). May this weekend bring you a time to relax, rejuvenate, and reflect. Much Love <3

international bird migratory day

Last weekend Bert & I took the kids to 4th Annual International Migratory Bird Day at Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area, 3131 South Central Ave. They had bird walks, educational presentations, kid crafts, and games.

Hudson enjoyed painting some bird wings and Ethan really liked the migratory game. He choose a bird and roll a die. It told us what # station to go on the bird's journey. That station then told of what obstacles the bird was facing and where to go next. He played twice and perished both times. Once due to being caught in a blizzard and once he was eaten by a cat. The objective was to show just how tough a bird migration is and how many do not survive.

But our favorites part of the day was being able to see birds up close and personal. The owls were way cool and my personal favorite. The eagle was pretty awesome to see and was Ethan's favorite!

Unfortunately my camera got dirt on the lens and wouldn't work otherwise I would have had a ton of fun photos.

oh what fun

We had some quality family time this past weekend. We laughed, we played, we got to enjoy one another away from the daily grind that can be life. It was awesome.

Ethan's behavoir at school has been less then stellar lately and it has had us all on edge. Friday and we decided to take an impromptu visit to the Phoenix Children's Museum. It was First Fridays in Phoenix and that means that the museum is free from 6-10 pm. What a treat. We were a little concerned it would be crazy busy and it was, but it was manageable. Both kids headed in different directions of course so, I went one way and Bert went another. We met up every so often so one brother could show the other brother how cool this and that was.

Saturday was a beautiful day. I went to yoga in the morning, worked out hard and was able to manipulate myself into plow pose > shoulder stand pose for the first time! That made me ecstatic for the rest of the day. I have been wanting to be able to do that for years. We trekked to the park after lunch, Bert & I on foot, Ethan scooter'd and Hudson big wheel'd). We played for 2 hours! Playground, sand, swings and basketball. I swung on the swing for a long time staring up at the sky and feeling like a kid myself. I wish I brought my camera but, then again I would have spent the whole time thinking of photo ops. So it's probably best I didn't.

We caped off the night with a Bingo night at Ethan's school. Nannie joined us and Daddy pulled out the big win! Ethan ran to the stage to collect his prize. Hudson decided he was a winner too! He ran right up their with Ethan, showed his (losing) bingo card and they kindly gave him a prize too.

Sunday was the most relaxing day I've had in awhile. I actually accomplished a lot around the house but, my mind was relaxed the entire day. And that felt wonderful! Here's wishing your upcoming weekend is filled with love, family and relaxed minds.

Sorry for such a long post but, I just didn't want these memories to fade away into the abyss that is my head.

weekend fun with grandparents

My parents left on Tuesday. I was sad to see them go but, happy that our next visit is near. We are heading to New York in March so we'll be seeing them and the rest of our family soon. We had a fun filled weekend. Friday was a blast. My husband and father played golf. My mother and I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese in the afternoon and my mother in law joined us for Disney on Ice that evening. Is was the World of Fantasy show and was really good. They had scenes from Cars the movie, Little Mermaid, Lion King (my personal favorite), and Tinkerbell.



Saturday was a beautiful day and we spent quality time outdoors; a walk around our neighborhood, play time at the park and lots of time in our backyard. On Sunday we had some friends over for an Italian feast and watched the Jets WIN! Monday my parents watched the kids while Bert & I went to see the movie Avatar in 3D. It was wonderful movie and nice to get a chance to just hang with my husband. It was a fantastic visit. It always makes my home feel even more like home when my family visits. I sure love them lots.

grandparents in the house

My parents arrived late yesterday evening. I am really excited to spend some quality time with them and for my kids to see their grandparents. It's been an entire year since they last saw them. Both boys have grown so much it will shock them for sure. My parents have so much love to give their only grandchildren and it saddens me we aren't able to see them more often. To make up for time lost we have a busy weekend planned full of family fun!