Interview with a Pre-Preschooler

Jeremiah starts preschool on Monday!  I cannot believe it.  He's very excited and I'm excited too.  And a little sad.  We'll see who cries first on Monday.  Stay tuned...

And of course, I have to include a video of Miss Sarah. 

Road Trip - Celtic Festival in Flagstaff and Sedona

It's Phoenix. It's summer. Of course it's hot! We wanted to take a day trip up to Flagstaff to enjoy some cooler temperatures - and Shawn found out about a Celtic Festival from a friend, so we decided to go and check it out!

The drive up is kind of long for the kids - just over 2 hours with one rest stop in the middle.

Naturally, the first place we went to was the kids area. They had a dragon's lair...

A laybrinth!

Face painting (I couldn't believe Sarah did this!)

A scary spider!

They also had a little old fashioned house. Jeremiah and Sarah played over here for a long time!

Sarah busied herself making butter!

Jeremiah really wanted a sword, but those were $20. We settled on the $5 rubber band gun made in China.

The kids (and us) were pretty much done, so we decided to leave. We were there about 5 hours, which for us, is a long time! On the way home, Shawn asked - "Should we stop in Sedona for dinner?" And I said "Of course!"

So off we went! 89A is such a beautiful (and long!) drive...

Perfect when you have two kids sleeping in the back!

The kids were hungry and ate great so they had ice cream sundaes!

We were at Tlaquepaque for dinner, and they have loads of statues and fountains - Jeremiah and Sarah thought it was great! We took a lot of photos.

Cutie Sarah...

Awww! These children are so sweet.

Handsome Dudes!

Jeremiah and I!

They had a bubbler just the kid's size. It was hilarious watching them drying to drink.

Before we left, Sarah kissed this frog. (He didn't turn into a prince.)

It was a really, really fun trip. The kids did great, we had fun as a family, and everyone came home ready for bed. Shawn and I used to do a lot of day trips like this when it was just the two of us - and it felt like we can start doing that again. Yay for kids growing up!

A 4th Birthday Extravaganza!

Since we're clearly really into birthdays around here, Jeremiah's birthday party was held this past weekend at Scooptacular, our local (and favorite) ice cream shop!

The fun started two days before his actual party - Jeremiah created his own ice cream for his party! We were able to see how ice cream is made.

First, you've gotta have an apron!



Then, you mix high-fat milk with vanilla and orange food coloring.



You pour the mixture into the ice cream maker.



When it's frozen, you add the toppings.



And ta-da! Ice cream. Jeremiah's creation: "Lava Swirl" - Orange colored vanilla ice cream with crushed oreo cookies, mini m&ms, marshmallows and a chocolate swirl. YUM!



PARTY TIME! Scooptacular was great - they supplied some decorations (he really wanted a Spiderman and Transformers balloon, so we brought those. They have two party hosts and set up the kids tables with some stackable ice cream toys and coloring pages.



Jeremiah was so proud to show off his ice cream behind the counter!



I have a million photos of kids like this! How fun!!



J and his buddy Lily!



Once most everyone arrived, the hosts played three or four games with the kids - the ladies were so great with the kids. (I think they were Jocelyn and Sam - sorry if I got your names wrong, ladies!)



In addition to the games, they also did a tour of the back and explained how ice cream was made - I think the grown ups enjoyed this as much as the children!



They even got to go in the big walk in freezer! BRRRR!!



Almost time to sing!



Happy birthday to you! (and time for ICE CREAM!)



At the end of the party, the hosts handed out either balloon swords or balloon puppies. The kids LOVED this! They also handed out a 'free cone' coupon to all the kids.

All in all, I would totally do another birthday party there! The price is fantastic, the location is great, and the kids all had a fun time! Thanks Scoop!

Week in Review/4th of July

Mud Puddles!


Jeremiah didn't jump - just stood and smiled - BIG!


He spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house this past weekend - and they had a cake for him! Lucky guy has had two cakes so far and his birthday party is this weekend!


4th of July we decided to be crazy and take the kids out for fireworks - first we stopped at Scooptacular, where they had a special ice cream - "Fireworks" - vanilla with red pop rocks! It was a hit.


We went to Indian School park for fireworks. We found a great spot with a lot of space for the kids to run.



Sarah looking so tan!


Waiting for the show to start!


The kids running in the dark!


Jeremiah stole the photo of Shawn and Sarah.


After what felt like forever - FIREWORKS!


Jeremiah thought they were awesome!


Sarah, not so much!

Because we're Rolands - we left in the middle of the show. We didn't want to get stuck in the thousands of people leaving the park all at the same time, plus it was the latest we've ever kept the kids up - they weren't in bed until TEN THIRTY! No joke, the kids have never been up that late. They slept fine, thankfully!