William's Fire Station Fieldtrip

Murder Mystery Party

Every year my sister-in-law Cadi hosts a costume party. This year she held it at our house and did a 1920s Murder Mystery Party. She transformed the house to a speak easy. It was a lot of fun!

Party Planner Extraordinaire!

My handsome hubby!

My brother-in-law Brian (Cadi's husband) and Me.

She put up TONS of candles. I was glad there were no fires to report!

Fun night!

Halloween Recap

Splash Pad

We were lucky to find a splash pad to cool off one afternoon. The kids had a blast!

William's Birthday Redo

William has been claiming for months that he did not get a birthday cake for his last birthday. I made him cupcakes for his Preschool party in early December and called that good. When his birthday came on the 28th, we celebrated with some presents. I have since received at least a dozen reminders from him that he did not get a cake....so I made him one for his "birthday".

...and this is how much he ate!

First Days of School

William started his second year of Preschool. He has a great teacher and loves to go!

James started the 1st Grade this year. He started off with a rough start and didn't want to go because it "wastes his whole day," but he's used to the routine now.

The Wandering Sleeper

I don't know if she sleep walks or just wanders the house at night, but this girl is rarely found in her bed these days. Last night she moved herself to the couch. Sometimes it's on the floor near our room. It is a different place each time...strange!

I'm Sailing!

Skipper Steve (aka: my Dad) took me out on his beautiful boat while I visited Utah. We had a great visit while out on the water. Sailing is really quite relaxing! I enjoyed it!!

I'm Sailing!! (What about Bob shout out) I, however, did not need to be strapped to the mast.

Hair Cut

Finally cut those baby locks! William is actually in the background getting his hair cut too.

Cove Fort

We took a trip to Utah in the summer and stopped at Cove Fort on the way. The fort was built in the mid 1800s to protect and assist travelers passing through. We had been traveling all day in the car and the kids needed to get out for a bit. This sister came to our car and helped James get his shoes on and then gave us a tour. This was the greenest grass we'd seen in a while!

I tried to explain to the kids what it would have been like to have lived back then. I'm thankful we don't have to...it was a hard life! I do appreciate how hard they worked and hope we can teach that to our kids too.

Summer Days

Most people here have a pool in their backyard. This is ours...exciting I know, but it helped keep the kids cool in 120 degree temps.

Father and sons campout

Tooth Fairy

James lost his first tooth while waiting in line for the Astro Orbiter. Thankfully the tooth fairy travels to vacation destinations so we were alright! About a month earlier, as we discovered the loose tooth, I was wondering what the Tooth Fairy's rates were these days. I overheard a conversation that cleared up the matter. I was getting a drink in the kitchen when I heard William say that the tooth fairy would leave James $30 dollars when he lost his tooth. I about spewed my drink! To my relief I heard James respond that "No the tooth fairy only brings one dollar for each tooth." Awesome!!

Disneyland

One advantage we discovered to living in Phoenix was that Disneyland was only a few hours drive away. We made a trip recently and had a wonderful time. We are Disneyland fans!!