Mercury rising...

I can't believe it has been over 100 degrees for the past three days...yuck! It's April! What pioneer in his right mind decided to settle here? The only thing I can figure is that they first came in November when it is a balmy 80 degrees, settled, and the spring hit and they said "oh drat" (or whatever terminology they used back then) but it was too late..they were stuck. Thats all the complaining I am going to do for awhile (no guarentees after we hit the 120s) because we do have air conditioning and a great house with plenty of space for the kids to play inside where its cool. The kids, unlike their mother, LOVE the heat. They spend hours every day playing with the hose (probably shouldn't have left the water running for that long on Earth day...hmmm) and in the kiddy pools. Today Grace helped me plant flowers while Noah watered them- we had a small lake in our front yard! I didn't get pics of the flowers- we were all too covered in dirt!

Old Mcdonald had a ranch...

This weekend we took a trip up to visit Mema and Papa at their horse ranch in Skull Valley, AZ (nice name huh!) The kids had a blast! For some reason Grace has been nervous around animals so she took awhile to warm up to the idea of visiting a ranch. Mema: "Grace, what animal do you want to go see?" Grace: "Chickens" Papa: "We don't have any chickens" Grace: "But, this is McDonalds farm" Papa: "Actually, its a ranch" Grace: "A ranch? hmmmmm". So we decided to offer her the very cool option of riding her own kid-sized, motor-powered "gator" (like a tractor). She told Mema she would rather help her scoop dog poop (see pic)




The Old McDonald theme continued...for some reason, everytime Papa entered the room, Noah would sing "EIEIOOOOOO"...that kid cracks me up!



Grace finally warmed up to the gator, which she used to chase down whoever was closest to her (thanks papa for encouraging that!). Noah spent his time dodging Grace's driving! Most of the time she drove she would sit back and put both of her arms on the seat behind her, totally relaxed, and then put her foot on the pedal as if someone else was chauffeuring her around. We would have to dive out of the way, or run after her and pull the gator out of the way of trees, rocks, animals, Noah, etc. And to think I was worried about missing my gym time!






Noah played on a pedal tractor, although he really preferred to ride in the wagon attached to the back. His legs were not quite long enough for the pedals, so papa roped the tractor and pulled him around.




Grace's best (and only) animal friend on the farm was Scrappy Cat. Scrappy normally does not let anyone near her, but she and Grace bonded from the get-go and spent most of the day "hunting" mice together. Grace: "we will have to dig veeeeery far Scrappy!"



Steve and I got some much needed rest time (I even took a nap!) and enjoyed being out of the heat for the weekend. I can't believe it's already 95 here in Tempe! blech!
Here's a slide show of all the pics I took over the weekend (not one of me! I am going to work on that- I may take Shannon's 52 week challenge, a pic of me and the kids together a week...we'll see)

Easter (sort of) pictures

So the entire family (except for me..yay!) got a horrible stomach virus over Easter. So instead of hunting for eggs and wearing our new pretty Easter dress (Grace) and shirt (Noah), everyone was throwing up for 3 days straight. I have never ever been so thankful for my washing machine!!! I really wanted some pictures of the kids for my bedroom wall, so we dressed them up tonight in their Easter outfits and went out to take pictures, only to find out that ARGH! one of the settings on my camera got switched (who knows which one!) and it WOULD NOT autofocus no matter how much I begged. So, here are a (very) few that actually turned out while I tried to manual focus with three very active kiddos! Noah thought that we were playing a fun game of chase and was belly laughing as he dodged the camera- so funny!(PS Thanks Dad for the great new portrait lens!) I did get the camera figured out, but only after the sun went down and the moment had passed...sigh

AZ or bust! (a little bit early!)

Okay, so I owe my seminary friends an apology! You are probably a bit confused, but any of you that have kids will understand. There we were packing, in our tiny apt (again, u guys can relate!) and it was windy and rainy so the kids were stuck inside. Every time I went into one of the bedrooms and came out Noah's feet were sticking out of a different box upside down because he had climbed into one and gotten stuck. Grace was starting to cry at anything because her whole world was being put into boxes. Sunday night Steve turned to me and said, "you know, it might just be easier if you just take the kids to my moms house now." At first it sounded crazy, but after looking at it, we would save over $1000 if I just drove the kids instead of flying, and they would get to be with their grandparents having fun instead of stressing out in our tiny packed apt. So on a whim I packed our suitcases and off we went. It turned out to be so good for them, although so sad for me. (I will either come back with Steve at the end of April or during his week long session in August to see all of you guys then!) The kids didn't cry once during the 13 hour straight drive, although since Grace seranaded me with her new recorder and Noah with his keyboard, I shed a few tears :) The kids had a blast with his parents for that week, and by the time Steve got here a week later I had a chance to get our house all prepped for the move-in. It was nice not having too much stuff to move into the house- I know you always accumulate stuff, but hopefully we can keep the furniture to a minimum for awhile. I did have to find a dining room table, but I am so excited that I found one on craigslist for $40. I am going to sand and refinish it! Steve started working right away, two days after he got here. It has been such a blessing that there was a need at his families company that he has been able to fill, although I know it was hard for him to not take a break after the move. The kids and I have already joined the zoo and the children's museum here where we go several times a week. Grace has been very happy to be reunited with "her Dallas" (her best buddy here.) She still prays for baby Carsyn and asks why Ms. Megan can't teach at her school this coming fall. Although it has been sad, I really feel like the kids are thriving here. Noah was given a good checkup at the doctor here and he is now off of all of his meds (even his breathing treatments!) We really look forward to seeing all of our Mill Valley friends when we go back for Steve's school, and we hope that if you are ever in the area, or want to visit the valley of the sun, that you will come stay with us! (I recommend the winter time as it is already in the mid nineties now.) I miss you all so much and brag about what great friends we made in Mill valley often!

Adventures in potty training...

From the very first tiny diaper that I changed that first day of Grace's life I remember thinking, I can't wait until she is potty-trained! Well, 2 1/2 years later we are getting very close. Grace is able to keep her pull up dry most of the day, with very few accidents, and is very good about telling us when she needs to go. What has surprised me, however, is the amount of work that having a potty-trained child has turned out to be. I used to think it would be so much easier when we didn't have to worry about carrying diapers and wipes around, and when we didn't have to face the ever looming possibility of "the blowout." What I have found though, is that this is all much easier than the constant effort it takes to a) find a bathroom anywhere at any time, and b) get your child to the bathroom and onto the potty while holding another kid and your purse/any other items you happen to be juggling at the time. What do you do when you are on the highway, late for an appointment and you hear the familiar "mama I have to go pee pee." I am the first to admit, there have been times when I have said "please just go in your diaper." (probably not the most effective way to potty train your kid!) The other day we pulled over and used our travel potty in the trunk while it was pouring rain and the wind was blowing all around us. Poor Grace. She looked at me like I was insane, and I have to admit, I probably wouldn't choose to pee in hurricane-like conditions. I have also found that it is crucial to cover the sensor on those toilets at large stores. Found that one out the hard way after the toilet flushed and Grace jumped off and ran bare-bum across the bathroom while both kids wailed. Days later I still have to convince her that the toilet will not flush while she is sitting there. Grace loves potty training videos, and if you have never experienced one, click below. This is currently her favorite, followed closely by Elmo's potty time. Oh man, after watching this movie, Steve and I laughed so hard we were crying. "She's a super-duper pooper" is our favorite song!

City girls (and guy)

We are still having a blast with the family in town! Today we went into the city to see the sea lions (Gracies favorites!). After watching them for awhile we checked out the Boudin bread factory where we got some yummy sour dough bread. The kids got a roll shaped like a turtle, which they didn't want to eat, but preferred to play with. (I have a feeling we will have a very stale turtle-bread sitting around our house for days) We are going to go out to dinner at the cheesecake factory tonight (yum!) and tomorrow we are planning on checking out Muir woods. Hopefully the weather holds out as long as our energy!

Visit from the fam!

Grandma Terry, Aunt Erin, and Aunt Kate are here to visit. Today we went to the zoo. Grace was enjoying watching the giraffes until one made eye contact with her, at which point she started crying hysterically. Noah loved the gorillas! It was a gorgeous day today, a great break from the rain we have been having. It's supposed to start raining again for the weekend, hopefully we will get to go to the city tommorow before it hits!