Another Birthday, Blossoms & My Boys

{SATURDAY} We took the kids to the Air Show at Luke AFB. Since it was so busy and parking was a crazy mess, we decided to park our car on the side of the road and watch the air show from above. We might be attending more air shows in the future. The kids loved it and so did we!

{SUNDAY} We had a special family brunch for my 34th birthday at The Farm at South Mountain. It was the best location for little kids to run around. I enjoyed every minute of being with family and it was a special time for the cousins to play together.

{MONDAY} The rains came today and cooled off the weather quite a bit. I love how rain brings new life to everything and washes away the old.

{TUESDAY} My baby has turned into a little boy who can play rough and dirty. Ryland has started to enjoy pushing cars around the tile floor and wearing other people's shoes. He lights up my life every single day (as do Taylor and Landon).

{WEDNESDAY} Landon loves family. He can't get enough. Opa and Oma came over today for an overnight visit and Landon and Taylor soaked up every moment of the extra attention. I just love how this photo shows my Dad holding Landon and his little hands are wrapped around his Opa's neck.

{THURSDAY} One of my good friends is an interior designer and her creativity rubs off on me often. That's a good thing! This week I have painted a wall in my office and it came out beautifully. I have a few more creative changes up my sleeve.

Park, Phoenix Zoo & Patty's Day

{SUNDAY} We took the kids to a local park to burn off some steam before dinner. I seriously think our kids would live at the park if we let them!

{MONDAY} Landon turned on the hose to water my flowers and next thing I know, Ryland is covered in mud and Landon is washing off his little brother with the hose. So very thoughtful!

{TUESDAYS} Every Tuesday we leave the house a little earlier than normal. Today, much to our surprise, we saw three hot air balloons flying over and landing in our community. We all were so excited and it made a great start to our day!

{WEDNESDAY} (We actually went to the zoo on Thursday, but I needed it for today.) The best thing about visiting the local zoo on a hot day packed full of people was the unique chance my kids had to be with their good friends the Mac Pack and feeding a giraffe. This was such a cool experience!

{THURSDAY} Today is St. Patrick's Day. We started off the day by a special treat...eating St. Patty's donuts that sugared up my kids for the day. It was definitely something out of their normal routine to get donuts for breakfast.

Celebrations, Cooking & Cranes

{MONDAY} Today Hank and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. Thankfully, my mother-in-law asked to keep the kiddos for the night so that Hank and I could go out and celebrate. After dropping off the kids, I met Hank at Ninfa's, my new favorite Mexican restaurant. But before dinner, he took me to a boutique and let me pick out a few things. I chose two dresses and some fun jewelry. After the shopping excursion, which was so fun for me, we headed to the restaurant. Hank had flowers and a card ready at our dinner table. We took our time eating and enjoyed every moment of it.

{TUESDAY} Sickness has hit our household hard this winter. And our refrigerator has been home to countless bottles of medicine. This past weekend Ryland tested positive for influenza A. We caught it early so he was able to get the medicine in his system at the onset of the sickness and was almost back to normal by the end of the week. And thankfully, no one else caught it!

{WEDNESDAY} Landon loves to cook. No matter how many times I discourage him to be around the oven/stove, he's like a magnet to it. He grabs the bathroom stool and watches or sometimes I let him "help" with easy tasks. He'll make a good husband someday!      

{THURSDAY} Such a unique photo for today. Yes, I carry my pocket camera with me always to capture moments like these. We saw this crane as we were stuck in heavy traffic by Union Hills and the 101. We sat in the car for almost 10 minutes, totally in awe, watching a huge crane lift and move an electric pole high above us. Cheap fun!

{FRIDAY} Ryland loves the pegs and peg board that Taylor has at her preschool. Every time I drop her off and pick her up, Ryland darts to this particular work station. So after a quick Internet search to track down this educational toy, I ordered a set and they finally arrived today. All three kids take turns playing or they work together. It's fun to watch their little hands at work.

{SUNDAY} Today was Vincent's, our neighbor and Landon's classmate, 3rd birthday party at Gymboree. We'll be headed back there in a few weeks for Landon's birthday. I can't believe our boys are 3! They grow up so stinkin' fast! I love this photo of Ryland caught "freezing" in the freeze dance.

Tears, Taylor's Favorites & Being Together



{WEDNESDAY} This is what happens when you quickly take away an ice cream cone from an 18 month old. Seriously, I took the cone away for maybe 10 seconds to take off the paper wrapper and a meltdown had started. Thankfully, all was good the second I returned the cone to its rightful owner. Geesh!



{THURSDAY} Taylor is getting better and better about writing her name. I say it's pretty good for a little girl who just turned four. Getting her to write out her last name with be a miracle, but I know my girl is up for the challenge!

 

{FRIDAY} I stayed up super late to get some projects done. One of them was scrapbooking Taylor's latest professional photos. I decided to interview her as well to capture some of her favorites at age four. Here are her answers:
FAVORITE COLORS: pink and purple
FAVORITE MEAL: chicken nuggets and fries
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: crafts
GOOD FRIENDS: Grace, Katie & Rozlynn
FAVORITE SONG: Jesus Love Me
FAVORITE BOOK: Blue Hat, Green Hat
FAVORITE TV SHOW: The Fresh Beat Band
FAVORITE PLACE TO VISIT: New Mexico
WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY: when Daddy tickles me
WHAT MAKES YOU SAD: when my brothers hurt me

{SATURDAY} I love this photo of the three kids coloring together in their pajamas. I love Saturday mornings when we can go slow and be together as a family...plus it's my one day a week to sleep in :-)

{SUNDAY} Every other weekend, Hank and I change out the equipment at our local Gymboree. We have been blessed to be able to enroll our three kids in their favorite classes for over a year now. It's a lot of work, but we know the kids enjoy the fruit of our labor.

Drop Dead Tired, Doctor's Appointment & Ding Dong Ditching

{FRIDAY} After running a few errands and taking the kids through the Chick-fil-a drive-thru, this is how we caught Ryland on the way home: totally knocked out. He has the balloon string still in his mouth and a chicken nugget in his right hand. Priceless! 

{SATURDAY} Tonight I met up with some girlfriends for craft time and girls night out. Brenda taught us how to make flowers to pin on our outfits or to put in our hair. Finally around midnight we decided we should probably head home. We will try to make this night a monthly occurrence.

{SUNDAY} Such a great day! I was able to take not just one but two naps today. I was in hog heaven! Hank snapped this photo of the kids snuggling with me...some of my favorite memories.

{MONDAY} Today was Ryland's 18 month well check. Thankfully, he only needed one shot and won't need any more until he turns four. I was really surprised by his stats. Ryland weighed in at 24.5 pounds (34th percentile) and is 34.25 inches tall (94th percentile). So he is long and lean and perfect in every way.  

{TUESDAY} Some might say it's a little too young to teach an almost 3 year old and a 4 year old how to ding dong ditch, but I disagree. I taught my kids how to have some clean, honest fun. We picked a couple of neighbors to ring their doorbell, hide and then run. I thought Landon wouldn't be able to stay quiet and Taylor might be afraid, but they both did famously well. They love it and want to go again! I know my neighbor friends who read this blog will find us out, but we will start a new tradition and eventually get more neighbors who don't know us!