The End?

Eat, Eat, Eat
Monday, May 28, 2012
Day 365

When we have guests we like to take them to all our favorite places to eat, so I think our guests think that the ONLY thing we ever do is eat! And swim.

Today we dined at the Apple Dumpling Cafe.



They have a yummy chicken avocado crescent with baked apples and cinnamon and raspberry chipotle that is SO GOOD!

Party Time
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Day 366

Adam's class had an ice cream party today to celebrate the upcoming last day of school. As part of their celebration they each got to pick one piece of writing they did during the year to share with the class.



Adam has become quite the little writer this year. Before long maybe he'll be blogging right along side me.

Then, of course, since Grandma and Grandpa are still here we had to take them out for dinner. We haven't run out of favorite places to eat yet! Tonight it was Chino Bandido.



Last Day of School!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Day 367

Lots of things are coming to an end nearly simultaneously here. We are at the end of our first year in Arizona. We are nearly at the end of Grandma and Grandpa's visit. And today we are at the end of a fantastic school year.

Here are my good looking kids headed out the door for the last day.





They have grown so much since the first day of school!

Hugging teachers goodbye.





Thank you so much to our WONDERFUL teachers this year!!!!!!

Olive You Glad I Haven't Run Out of Puns Yet?
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Day 368

When Ryan was in town we visited the Queen Creek Olive Mill and learned all about growing Olives and make Olive Oil. So of course I had to take my parents back for a visit as well.

When Ryan was here the tress were full of blooms. Now they are full of fruit.



My mom bought a couple of bottles of oil and then in a display of momentary forgetfulness tried to take them in her carry-on. Of course they wouldn't let her. Over 1 oz of liquid. I was nearly home from dropping them off at the airport when I got the call from my dad, Southwest was holding the oil for them and could I please return the airport and pick it up.



Operation get mom's oil from the airport was a success.

Just Add Water

Just Add Water!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Day 358

Found snorkels at the store today and kids were TOO excited to wait until we went swimming to use them. So there was a lot of out of water snorkeling at our house today.




Because Apples are Overrated
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Day 359

I would like to know who first decided that we should all gives apples to the teacher. As the end of the school year approaches our kindergarten class decided we wanted to something more then a mere apple to show our teacher how much we appreciate all her hard work. So we pooled some money and I ordered a bright, colorful rug to use in her classroom.

It arrived today!!!!! I cannot wait to give it to her!



A Change Will Do You Good
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Day 360

Today I decided to roll up black rug that was by my front door and bring in the red rug that has been sitting in the garage. I thought it might bring a little more color to my entry way.





I think I like it.

Arizona History Tour
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Day 361

Did I mention that Grandma and Grandpa arrived in town this week? The kids are ECSTATIC!

So we played hooky from school today and took Grandma and Grandpa to the Arizona Capitol Museum.





Target
Friday, May 25, 2012
Day 362

We spent our Friday evening at Target. Because we are exciting like that.



It's a Match
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Day 363


Headed out the the McCormick-Stillman Train Park with Grandma and Grandpa today, because it is my kids' all time favorite place to go.

Zoey and I, were near twinners in our grey and yellow dresses from Target.




And just because I love them so much I also need to show you my matching yellow shoes.




AND I adore this picture from Downtown Scottsdale.




Oh my, those are good looking kids!!!

Florence is.....well Florence 
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Day 364

Florence is a kooky little town that is kind of fun to take visitors to. They have an interesting historic district with, according to their website, 140 buildings listed on the National Historic Registry.

Florence is also home of the Arizona State Prison. Like I said, kooky little town.

Before Arizona was a state Florence was also the location of the territorial prison, so the prison has been there for a LONG time. And part of what makes the town so kooky is that they have completely embraced and are proud of their prison history. So you can imagine what a trip to the Historical Museum must be like.



Here is a blurb from the museum website:

"The museum also houses the archives for the Arizona State Prison in Florence. Of particular interest are the 28 actual nooses used for hangings at the prison. The double execution chair, used for the first gas chamber execution in Arizona, is also on display."

Not everything in the town is that morbid though. And being a small town they have to make good use of small spaces. Hence this little shop downtown.

Sprinting Towards The Finish Line

For The Kids
Monday, May 14, 2012
Day 351

Out running a few errands today and Harrison saw these little benches outside one of the stores and begged me to take a picture of them "for the kids." He is always so worried about what his older siblings are missing out on while they are at school.



Of course he insisted I take a picture of his sitting on each bench.



Crazy, sweet, amazing, funny kid!

If it Waddles Like a Penguin
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Day 352


Adam made this is school I think before Christmas time! And it keeps kicking around the house. It will disappear to his closet for awhile then reappear, getting in the way. So I told him the next time it was in my way it was going in the recycling can.



Today it got in my way. And now it's gone.


Short Lived
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Day 353

This is the plant I got from Zoey for Mother's Day.




Yup, it's dead already. Someday plants will love me as much as I love them. Someday....

Who Needs Sleep?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Day 354


They are building a home on the lot next door and I can't wait until they are done!!! They arrive to work so early and they are loud!

This morning this pump truck showed up at 4:45 am!!!






Of course the trucks with the cement didn't show up until around 8:00. And the pump truck just sat their idling THE ENTIRE TIME! Do you know how very loud and obnoxious that is at 5:00 in the morning?

Box Tops Drop Out
Friday, May 18, 2012
Day 355


I hate Box Tops. I hate the hassle of cutting them out. I hate trying to find a place to keep them once I cut them out. But I keep collecting them because I feel so guilty when I don't.

So I have been dutifully (and grudgingly) cutting them out all year. And guess how much money I made for the school.



$2.50. Yup. That's it. 25 stinking box tops. Next year I'm going to just write the school a check and call it good!

Yummy!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Day 356


One of our new favorite things at Costco.



Mix it with some cream cheese and a little onion and garlic powder and it's so very very good!

Green
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Day 357

Noticed today that my new dress is a perfect match to my phone case.



Guess I must like that color!

Almost at an end....

This week marks days 344-350. Can you believe it's almost been a year since this little project began???


Ticklin' the Ivories
Monday, May 7, 2012
Day 344

Tonight was Adam's first piano recital.



Adam did a great job!!!!

The recital was held at a church and this was painted on one of the parking spots close to the door. I LOVED it!!!




Desert Blossom
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Day 345


I know, I know, more nature pictures. But I had to because I honestly didn't even know that the saguaro cactus got a bloom! So when I started seeing them all I got all excited.



Stormy
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Day 346


I predict rain.....



Yup, it rained!



Guess that's what I get for washing the car yesterday.

Boys and Their Toys
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Day 347


You'd think that living in a construction zone that the kids would start to get bored or apathetic with the construction vehicles. But they still get excited and will watch for the longest time.



Donuts for Divas
Friday, May 11, 2012
Day 348


Mother's day in the kindergarten class.



Crowns, songs, flowers, and yes, there were donuts!

Dioder 
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Day 349

Does everybody else make fun of Ikea product names as much as we do at our house? Because we do. A lot. Like it's one of those things that never gets old.

Anyway, we bought Dioder several months back to put on the back of our tv but had still never put it on. So when Ryan was visiting me he was giving me a hard time about it. So I finally go some command adhesive velcro strips today and installed Dioder! So I snapped this pic to show Ryan my handy work.



Turns out it's the only picture I took today-hence it's showing up on my blog.

I'm looking at this picture and I can't even figure out what we were watching. Like at all!!!! Oh well.

Here Comes the Sun
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Day 350

Forget what the calender says, summer is here now!



And this is only the beginning......

Week of Pink

Lil' Taste of Texas
Monday, April 30, 2012
Day 337

While Ryan was here we made a quick grocery run and he got VERY excited when we passed this in the freezer section.



Apparently this ice cream is from Texas, where my older brother, Richard, served his mission, and it's SUPER GOOD and you can't get it in Utah. And apparently Richard still pines for this stuff all these years later.

I don't know how Ryan knew this and yet I'd never even heard of the stuff.....but he did.

So, I was told I HAD to buy some and that Richard would come visit me JUST for this ice cream. So today, I bought my first ever half gallon of Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Pink
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Day 338


Walking home from taking the kids to school this morning and I noticed my tree was in bloom! Didn't even know I had a tree that would bloom, but there it was! Pink flowers, out of nowhere.




Domesticated
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Day 339


I broke down today and bought a sewing machine. I'm not really a seamstress. Like at all. But every once in awhile I need to sew something. I've had a hand-me-down sewing machine that I've used over the years and it's gotten me by. But today that old machine completely seized up on me, in the middle of a project. And I guess I could've found a repair shop and tried to get is fixed but it ticked me off that it quit mid-project with a looming deadline and I was too impatient to wait for it to get fixed.




So now I have my very own sewing machine. AND I finished my project.

Celebration of Learning
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Day 340


Tonight was the Art Fair/Celebration of Learning at the school.

Here Zoey shows off one of her Art Masterpiece projects.




And Here Adam stands next to his blue whale project.



In order to demonstrate just how BIG a blue whale is he found the weight of a bunch of different things in comparison to a blue whale and then we did some math to scale those weights all down. We did a 1/6400 scale to be exact. (I helped with the math part, but the rest of the project he really did on his own!)

His blue whale is represented by the 50 lb bag of wheat. (I knew my food storage would come in handy some day!) And a human is a mere .05 oz in comparison. Even a T-Rex only weighs 2.5 lbs on our scale. Which really starts to give you an idea of JUST HOW HUGE the blue whale is!!!!

Mike made the comment that all those years of reading about Jonah being swallowed by a whale he wasn't really sure how that was even possible. But seeing just how big they are he now understands how one could easily swallow a man.

Pinkalicious
Friday, May 4, 2012
Day 341


Today was Zoey's field trip-dinner theater! Well, in this case lunch theater.

I had 5 little girls in my group and it was about as fun as it sounds to try and help all 5 of them through a buffet line. Luckily most of them just wanted pizza.

Then we were treated to the musical production of Pinkalicious.




Boys and girls alike were tickled pink.

Just Because
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Day 342


Mike brought me breakfast in bed this morning. Just because.




When did I become a nature photographer?
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Day 343


I feel like I've taken probably too many pictures of flowers and landscapes and such. But it's kind of an exciting time of year because the cacti are all starting to bloom, and they only bloom once a year. So it's like Christmas, you have to celebrate it when it comes because it won't be back again for a long time!

So today I saw this giant cluster of prickly pear and I had to snap a few pictures.

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Olive you glad you read my blog?
Monday, April 23, 2012
Day 330

Today we learned all about olives at the Queen Creek Olive Mill. Here is where Arizona'a only Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced. The trees are currently in bloom.



We took their Olive Oil 101 tour and learned everything you never knew you didn't know about olives and olive oil. And then we enjoyed lunch at their cafe.



And then, sadly, we put Ryan on a plane and sent him back home.

Goodbye Ryan! Come again soon!!!


Love Notes
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Day 331


Now that Ryan is gone I went into the guest room today to change sheets and such and found a lovely little surprise!




Reluctant Shopper
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Day 332

After a weekend of fun with Ryan it was time to face reality and once again go grocery shopping. (I hate grocery shopping!)

Harrison dislikes going with me almost as much I hate going. So here's my reluctant little shopping buddy.



This is his "I'm only here because you're forcing me to be!" look.

I Think I Can....
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Day 333


Adam was reading The Little Engine that Could to the younger kids tonight and Harrison was getting frustrated with him because he kept forgetting to show the pictures. So Harrison came up with his own solution to the problem.



Date Night
Friday, April 27, 2012
Day 334

Mike and I don't get much opportunity to go out just the two of us. Since he works from home (or at least did before he was laid off, who knows what his new job will bring) we do occasionally do lunch while the kids are at school but Harrison is still at home so we still have 1 little tag along.

But even if we can't get out alone together we try to at least get out of the house together each week. So tonight it was frozen yogurt night.



Innovators
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Day 335


Mike and I spent the day in the garage today. We still have several boxes that haven't even been opened since we moved. And everything we just don't want to deal with gets shoved out in the garage. So it was way past time to start dealing with the stuff!

The kids came out but eventually started to get hot. So they invented this little awning to retreat under.



They were so proud of their invention that here they are toasting each other to a job well done.



Together
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Day 336


Sometimes I wonder why we went to the effort of giving the kids each their own bedroom because more often then not this is the scene I wake up to.