we got mail!

The boys got a Halloween care package from Grandma and Grandpa last night.  They were so excited!  Snakes, pirates, yo-yo's, sticker books, glow in the dark tattoos, candy, funny glasses and $10 bucks a piece.  Yep, they were stoked. Remember these waxed lips in the photo below?  Haha, I haven't seen those in ages. Don't they look so funny?!  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!  And ... Happy Birthday Grandma, we love and miss you!!!

drawing lesson: sarcophagus

The last drawing, before session 1 ended. we drew a Sarcophagus and learned a little bit about Egyptian tombs.  This lesson as well as the Notre Dame Cathedral lesson where both nice in that they had a little history to go along with them.  we start session 2 in 2 weeks and it will be a cartoon drawing class. Fun!

Ethan

Hudson

 I kind of feel on this one that the drawing was much better before they added marker.  Personally on more complex images I think little kids do better with color pencils.

staycation - final weekend!

Saturday, day 8: Started the day with yoga class - 2 weeks in a row!  Then we just hung around at home and at 7 pm I left for a night out with some girlfriends.  It was a birthday celebration dinner for one of my favorite girls at Kyoto Japanese Restaurant and a show at Comedy Spot in downtown Scottsdale.  Happy Birthday Inessa!

Sunday, day 9: I woke up sore from yoga with a bit of a headache.  Sunday is football day in the Fagan household so after a nice breakfast of egg sammies and southwest potatoes (yum), Steve stopped by for a few hours to watch the game.  The boys and I baked cookies, colored with chalk and created with bendaroos.  I also got a little cleaning in.  Later in the day Inessa stopped by with Jeremiah and Khaya and the kiddos happily played together for a couple of hours while we chit chatted. Inessa purchased one of my paintings!  I was flattered and honored that she wanted one for her home.  So nice.

Today marks the end of the staycation, back to work and school tomorrow - boo!  I'm not ready to go back in the real world  Nope, not ready.

staycation days 6 & 7

Thursday, day 6: Today we just hung at home, Hudson ran some errands with me and at the magic hour of 4 pm Nannie picked the boys up for a sleepover!  Oh yeah!  Bert & I enjoyed some quality time together and later Steve and Connie stopped by.  It was Steve's birthday, Happy Birthday Steve!  After they left Bert (my HERO) helped me figure out how to embed a photo gallery onto a website for a client.  This was a HUGE accomplishment, I had been struggling with this for longer then I care to admit. 

 Friday, day 7:  Woke up to a quiet house, went to work for Soft Flex for a couple of hours to get a time sensitive project completed and then headed out to meet up with Nannie, Tom and the boys.  They were at Enchanted Island Amusement park in Phoenix.  After hours of play we all went to lunch at Pei Wei and then headed home. Nannie and Tom plan on taking a nap and I think we have some cleaning and creating and the Yankee game on the agenda.

staycation - day 4 & 5

Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum

Tuesday: day 4:  We started off the day with a play date over at our friends house.  There were lots of kids to play with and mamas for me to catch up with. It was a great morning and especially nice to be off work and able to go play on a Tuesday morning! Afterward we hung at home for awhile and then ventured out to Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum.  I picked up a free culture pass at the library last week so, we thought it would be great day to check it out.  It was a nice outing but, oh so quick.  I think we made it through the entire museum in about 15 minutes!

Canyon Woods Lake

Wednesday, day 5: Road trip! Today we jumped in the car and headed north for cooler weather, pine trees and a lake.  What fun!  We stopped in Payson and hit the playground.  The car ride had the boys ready to burn off a little steam before lunch was a great idea.  We had lunch at the 260 cafe, it was yummy diner food with retro decor and bonus, they gave the kids each a toy from a toy box on the way out - who does that?  Hudson held on to his new pal Tiger all day! After lunch we drove another 30 miles to Canyon Woods Lake.  It was beautiful.  Lots of people fishing and boating.  We tried some rock skipping, walked along the lake and then along a trail higher up the mountain. The kids loved collecting rocks, pine cones, leaves and branches.  On our way out of the park we stopped at viewpoint and sat for a while admiring the Mogollen Rim. It was a fantastic day. One we are all sure to remember for a long time.

Mogollen Rim

staycation - day 3

 Monday, day 3: I worked for an hour in the morning tying up loose ends from work on Friday. Then we all headed out to the desert botanical gardens for a nice walk outdoors and to see the monarch butterfly exhibit.  While there we also saw Gwynn Popovac’s biomythic masks exhibit which Ethan & I really enjoyed.

Shadow - Ethan's favorite mask pick

It was a great outing, the boys who were active and cranky this morning and they really calmed down at the garden and were at peace most of the afternoon. We had pizza and ice cream for lunch and then settled into a bunch of quiet activities, reading, blogging, chalk drawing, backyard playing, watched some tv and bubble baths for all! Me included :)  I am back on the computer for some freelance work tonight before bed - I know, I know I really need to call it quits but, I can't quite shut all the biz off just yet.

staycation - days 1 & 2

We started our family "staycation" on Saturday.  We have never taken a vacation and just stayed home before and I have been really looking forward to it!  Here is what we have been up to:

Saturday, day 1: I started the morning with yoga.  Hudson was so excited to go to the gym (it had been awhile) that we left 10 minutes earlier then we really needed to, when we got there I found out the class was 30 min later then normally scheduled.  I contemplated leaving but, decided to stick it out and wait. I am so happy I did, it was really worth the wait.  One of Ethan's classmates was in the kids care too so, he thought that was cool. Later that day Nannie stopped by for a late afternoon treat - dunkin donuts of course!  The boys decided to have a sleepover in Ethan's room and surprising did really well.  We only had to go and quiet them down 2 or 3 times before they fell asleep.

  
Sunday, day 2: After breakfast together we hit the tennis court.  I started the day off rough since we were missing a tennis racket and I get frustrated when things are not in the correct places.  I almost declined to go with Bert and the boys but, I would have regretted doing that so, I went along and took a jog around the tennis courts alone when we arrived to cool off. Hudson joined me for a walk around again while Bert & Ethan played tennis.  Bert & I played a few rounds while the boys climbed along the hill and played in the grass. I felt so much better when we returned home.  Our friend Steve came over to watch football, then Bert & Steve went golfing and the boys and I went to Chuck E Cheese (after I talked them into cleaning, sweeping & mopping the playroom). Once again the boys had a sleepover in Ethan's room. This time they went to bed even faster then usual. I snuck in a little time to fulfill an Etsy order (yay!) and work on my logo client then settled into bed early.