zoo and ava's first birthday

Lots of beautiful time spent outdoors this weekend.

At the Zoo

Ava's 1st Birthday

Ethan turns 7!

This month marked Ethan's 7th Birthday.  I can't believe my baby boy is 7 years old!  He is so "grown up". We had a nice long weekend of celebrating.  I tried to bake a cake but, for some reason my cake stuck to the pan and we ended up having to trash it.  Oh well, the Carvel cake was really yummy!  Bert, Hudson and I gave Ethan our gifts.  He got a new bathing suit, flip flops and shorts, 2 super Mario action figures and a new Wii game, Super Mario Sports Mix and we all sang Happy Birthday wearing Mario mustache's.  I was a Mario-rrific Birthday!

I am really proud of the smart, kind and generous boy he has become. He loves learning, with each subject in school he is consumed by it, enjoying learning all the facts and details, his new favorite saying is "Dad, can you look this or that up on Google". Right now, they are learning about the solar system and he couldn't be happier.  He even created the solar system you see below all on his own and brought it to school to show the class.

Friday night we met Nannie & Tom for dinner, bowling, mini golf and rides at Amazing Jake's. Saturday he received cards in the mail from Grandma & Grandpa and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.  That afternoon we headed to Target as his birthday money was burning a whole in his pocket.  I was so impressed with Ethan's shopping trip!  He stopped and calculated everything and thought about what he really wanted. He bought a new DVD player for their playroom, a Mario movie, a new Wii game and even bought a DS game for Hudson.  That was super nice of him (and I have reminded Hudson just how nice many times).

We didn't have his birthday party yet.  He has his heart set on a pool party with a waterside so, we worked it out with the boys that we'll celebrate both their birthday's together this year at one of the city pool's.  It will be a little strange having their party so far from their birthday but, April really isn't pool weather and Ethan wasn't budging on his pool party idea so, summer party it is.  I think it will be a lot of fun!

saguaro lake

Friday night we were invited over for dinner at Frank & Amy's house.  There two sons Timmy & Tommy attend daycare/preschool with Hudson. We had a great time and met up again Saturday afternoon for some fishing and spent the day on their boat at Saguaro Lake, a first for the boys and they really enjoyed it. We did too, it was gorgeous weather, scenery and good times.

 

Ethan was an impatient fisher but, managed to catch a couple quickly.

strike a pose

Aunt Kelly and Hudson had a little photo shoot fun while she was visiting.  These are the adorably cute pictures they took!

spring break

Last week was Spring Break. It was a great week full of laughter, love and family. We kept busy, had lots of fun and my sister Kelly traveled from NY for a visit. Hudson loved having his brother with him at Miss Laura's house Monday and Tuesday. The boys spent the day with Nannie and saw the movie Rango on Wednesday and my sister arrived that night for a mini vacation.

For St Patrick's Day, we drove to Fountain Hills to see their fountain turn green, enjoyed lunch, a beer and then hit the playground.  It was gorgeous out and really breezy.  After walking around most of the afternoon we headed home made two loaves of my great grandmother's Irish Soda Bread and capped the day off at our community pool.  Lovely.

Friday we went to the Desert Botanical Garden for their butterfly exhibit and annual plant sale. We almost left because the parking was crazy, it took 20 minutes of driving around to finally get a spot!  Hudson said "this is the worst day ever", so dramatic.  I bought a new plant for my kitchen (I have 2 plants now and hope to keep them both alive, baby steps).  The walk was great as always and the butterflies really pretty.  There were many different butterflies and the boys enjoyed searching for each type. 

 

They also had a sculptures throughout the garden which was pleasant to see.  The blue one was my favorite.  I think because the sculptures where a modern contrast in the outdoor space and many were bright colors that I was drawn to this one, the soft blue helped it blend into the landscape but it still has it's sharp modern edges making for a great blend of the landscape with the art.

The Spinning Tea Cups

Hudson's first time on the Roller Coaster, he was so proud of himself!

Friday night we went to the boys favorite place to play, Amazing Jake's. We went on rides, played mini golf, bowled, did laser tag and ate dinner.  The boys were super happy that we took Aunt Kelly there.

Saturday morning was spent lounging around the house.  Bert picked Sulaiman up from the airport and he stayed at our house until Joey and Aziz arrived to pick him up. That little Aziz is the cutest! I love seeing him. Steve came by the house too and after the Tohki's left we headed up to the community park to fly kites. Can you believe it was our first time flying a kite (not Bert or Steve's but the rest of us never did before). There is something magical about flying a kite, it felt like I was in Mary Poppins. Then we went over to the pool. After dinner my sister and I walked up to D'vine Bistro & Wine Bar, shared a bottle of wine, listened to live music and enjoyed each others company.

On Sunday, Kelly, the boys and I met up with our friends Krista and Tyler and Shabnam and Lucas and traveled by light rail to the Great Arizona Puppet Theater. We saw Rumpelstiltskin. Puppetry is really neat to watch, it's so creative and expands your creativity while being entertained. And they are silly fun.

 

 

Aunt Kelly left Sunday night and then Monday brought us all back to reality. Spring break was a good time!

day at the zoo

Last weekend we visited the zoo with Nannie and Tom.  It was another beautiful day to be outside!

The Crew

Javelina

Cheetah

Kimodo Dragon Exhibit

Carousel

It had been awhile since we've been and there were quite a few changes.  The new Koala exhibit was cute, did you know they sleep 18-22 hours a day?!  None of use could believe that. They eat and sleep.  That's it. The zoo has a new Orangutan exhibit they are working on that should be ready in April. It's a huge project and looks like it will be really nice.  We'll have to get back there again to check that out!

transportation day

We sure are enjoying all the beautiful weather! A few weekends ago we went to Transportation Day at a local church / preschool where some of our friends kids attend.  This an annual event and the kids very much enjoyed seeing many vehicles up close and personal, there was also a couple of bounce houses (always a hit), Randee and I even got to teach the kids the electric slide thanks to the event DJ, haha.

Jay, Ethan, Audrey and Hudson - not one of them is looking at the camera!

Hudson working the excavator

Bus driving is serious business

Ethan giving bus driving a try

This was the boys favorite!  Thank you Paul for braving it with Jay and the boys!