Desert Fun

Scott has renewed his passion for running. He's been doing races here and there but runs long distances regularly. He even ran to work the other day. It's 8.2 miles! Ugh!

In an effort to participate in family fun, we took the girls to the White Tank Mountains last Sunday. We went to play around while Scott ran about 8 miles through the wilderness. It was peaceful and something different to see. The girls and I took advantage of one of the playgounds. We checked out the nature center and library, but they were closed. Of course, we checked out the potty. The weather was warm and breezy. We stayed until just before sunset. I would like to be able to do some hiking as well, but the girls are too little, still. It was nice, anyway. Here are some pictures of our adventure. 

Birthdays, Photos, and Doctors...Oh my!

Avery's Birthday

The month of May has certainly been a busy one. As we wind down the month on this Memorial Day weekend, I thought I'd share some of our May excitement.

Princess Castle Cake 2011

Avery turned 2 on the 2nd and Ryann turned 4 on the16th so we had to have a princess party! On Sunday, May 15th, we had 13 kids and their parents. We had a bouncy castle and castle cake. Ryann loved the bouncer, but Avery waited until everyone went home. She decided it was ok to go if Daddy was in there, too. The girls were spoiled rotten with gifts from their friends. They had a blast! Ryann is still asking if she can have another birthday. She also has decided that she can do a lot more now that she's 4. She'll say, "Look, Mom, I can reach now!" It's amazing how much she grew and matured overnight. :0)

Ryann & Her BFFs



On the 13th, Scott & my anniversary, I took the girls for annual photos. At first, Avery was terrified, but she warmed up and everything went fine. 







On the 17th, I took the girls to the doctor for their annual check-ups. Ryann had to have some vaccinations. She took them well and won't need more until she's 11. She is in the 60th percentile for height and 70th percentile for weight. Avery is up to the 40th percentile in both. She's gaining.



To add to the family craziness in May, I've been super busy at work. The school year is winding down so there's tons of work to be done. I'm wrapping up things for the grant I coordinate, getting ready to do reports for the state. I was hired as a mentor teacher for next year so I have meetings and trainings beginning. Overall, there's just a ton. Report cards have to be done by the last day of school, June 7. Then I can sigh a big sigh....and start trainings for next year on the 8th. This summer will be pretty busy, but we're looking forward to a trip to NY in July. Both kids trapped on an airplane across the country should be interesting. Stay tuned.





May

Avery & her bunny

May is a pretty important month for our family.

On Monday, the 2nd, my little baby turned 2 years old. I can't believe she's getting to be such a big girl. She's talking a lot more and doing all kinds of things by herself. She's into all kinds of mischief, too. She's a handful but she's still my snuggly baby.

Scott and I will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary on Friday, the 13th. My mom will be here so we can go on a real date, without kids. :0)

Ryann turns 4 on the 16th. We'll be having a party for both girls this coming weekend. We've got a plethora of princess stuff for the occasion. Ryann has requested another princess castle cake this year so I'll be busy getting that ready as well.

Both girls get to go to the doctor on the 17th. Happy Birthday...here's your shots. :0)

A Day at the Zoo

The Birthday Girl

In honor of Avery's birthday, my friend, Annie and I took the girls to the Phoenix Zoo. We all had fun walking around and looking at the animals. Ryann rode the merry-go-round, and actually enjoyed the first and last 15 seconds of the ride. We had a picnic with a variety of feathered friends. The girls got to play in the Little People farm area. Aside from a couple of scraped knees and my slight sunburn, things went well.

Ryann & Avery Taking a Break

Scott was out of town this weekend. He went home to Washington to make his return to the Bloomsday 12K race in Spokane. It's much colder than he's used to. He said they were hoping for the 40s today. Brrrr... He texted me that he finished the race in under an hour. He must have taken Ryann's advice. Last night on the phone she said, "Run very fast, Daddy." We're proud of him. :0)

Easter

We began our Easter festivities last week with an egg hunt and Easter Bunny encounter at an event for employees in my school district. That was ok. The girls found a few eggs among the gazillion other kids seeking them. Avery found a "golden ticket" in one of hers. She won a chocolate bunny, which her daddy was happy to eat for her. Meeting the bunny didn't exactly go well. It was much like our Santa meeting. Both girls were terrified of the huge rodent. I thought he was cute.

This Saturday, we colored eggs. Well, I colored them and the girls fought with each other then went outside to play while I finished. That night, we all headed to church. After church, we quickly got the kids to bed with promises that the Easter bunny would know if they weren't sleeping. I filled baskets and eggs as Scott and I watched a movie together. We're a bit wild & and crazy because we stayed up until almost 11:00. The night before we were asleep by 9. That was awesome!

I had planned to get up around 6 and hide eggs for the morning hunt. The girls usually get up between 6:30 and 7. Ryann decided to come in around 5:45 asking to snuggle in my bed. Hmmm.... That posed a problem. After a few minutes of snuggles, I sent her back to her room so I could sneak downstairs and to the backyard. Surprisingly, she went willingly and I crept down the stairs and to the back door. I quietly opened the sliding glass door and BEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP!!!!!! I had forgotten to turn off the alarm. I ran to enter the code and slid out the backdoor. Just as I got outside, the phone ran. It was the alarm company following up. Wow! I hid the eggs and went back to bed. I told Scott that I was super sneaky. He agreed that no one would ever notice me. I guess I wouldn't be any good as a private detective or something. Either way, the girls slept through it and were pleasantly surprised to find filled baskets and eggs in the backyard.

The girls spent most of the day today eating jelly beans and fighting over other things from their baskets. Avery even stole some candy from Daddy's basket. It was nice to have a day for the four of us to be together. We tried to go swimming this afternoon. The pool was 75 degrees. We went in but Avery and I were too wimpy to get wet all  the way. It was sunny, breezy and warm, but the water felt super chilly. Maybe May will have warmer water for us. I'm sure our friends and family in NY and Washington couldn't swim today, either. :0)~

Spring Break

Well, I made it to Spring Break. It was quite a hectic week leading up to it. We had visitors in town. Scott is working Spring Training every day. I had report cards and a ton of work to do. By the time break started, I was pretty tired. My mom was in town to watch the girls for us. We took her last day, Monday, to go to the Phoenix Zoo. The girls got to see Koala bears, among other things. It was fun except for Ryann's refusal to ride the merry-go-round. She asked about it all day but when we got in there, she had a fit and asked to go home. Ugh! Mom got them koala shirts to commemorate the day.

The first week of break is gone now. Scott and I both worked Tuesday through Thursday. We played hookie Friday morning to take Scott to a birthday breakfast before he went to work. Having his birthday during Spring Training puts a damper on the festivities, especially on a day with a night game. We'll have dinner on Sunday to celebrate.

Ryann had her first friend sleep over Friday night. There was no sleeping until after 11pm. Ryann is a bit of a menace at bedtime. She likes to run up and down the hallway frequently. I have to gate her in or make her sleep in her top bunk without the ladder. It may seem extreme but she stays in one place and doesn't seem to mind. Last night, she also found it fun to torment her friend by covering her friend's head or taking her stuffed animal. I banished her to the top bunk at 11 so I could sleep. It was smooth sailing from there.

Avery has reached a milestone this week. She is now in a toddler bed. Last week, she was in her crib for a time out and ended up on the floor. I decided it was time. She's done well so far. She still sits in it and calls for me in the morning. I kind of like that, but I'm sure it won't last long.

Scott and I will be working all next week. Then, school opens back up on the 28th. Our state tests are 2 weeks after that so there's lots to do. I'll be looking forward to June 7th, our last day of school for the year. :0)

Time to Swim!

After more than 2 years in our house, we finally put the swimming pool in the backyard. No more looking out and seeing nothing but dirt out back. There's still plenty of dirt, but now there's a pool in the middle. Our next adventure will be landscaping the rest of the yard.

Here are a few pictures of construction.

 The finished product.

Keelan was the first brave soul to test the waters. 68 degrees is way too cold for me, or "a bit brisk," as Keelan said. I'm thinking I'll get in by May. :0)