Thanksgiving

The older I get, the more I love Thanksgiving.  It seems we get so few opportunities to spend time with our extended family here in Arizona, so those few days a year are precious! 

The day started off with a flat tire.

Shawn spent three hours at Walmart getting it fixed.

Very thankful they were open!

We drove to Tucson and ate the 'mother of all cheeseballs'

It was huge!

I played MindFlex - not sure how that works.

One of the most delicious turkeys in the world!

Picking oranges in a rusty wagon.

Bill, who had a stroke in January, juggling.  Yay!

The kids loved playing with Noah and Jacob's guns and swords.

They beat everyone up!

Sarah and Ari cuddling.

And finally, PIE!  Jeremiah ate two slices of pumpkin and one apple!



We had so much fun!  The drive down was pleasant - Jeremiah slept and Sarah didn't scream - that's always nice.  It was great so spend time with the family - all the kids had fun playing together.  Ari and Jacob did a little magic show and Noah's danced "Thriller" for us.  The kids were so tired on the way home - Sarah was sleeping before we hit the freeway.  

Halloween...two weeks later!

We're not big halloween people around here - the kids costumes are usually thrown together from what we have after the kids decide what they want to be.  We don't do family costumes or anything, I do love seeing people who coordinate their outfits, but it's just not us :) 

Jeremiah, the army guy and Sarah the diva-princess

We went to a fun party - these are all the cute kiddos.

Jeremiah and Sarah's first time trick or treating!  Wow!



First Soccer Game

Jeremiah had his first soccer game last Satursday and, well, it didn't go that great.  Because it's a 'fun league' there are no scores kept - but J certainly is smart enough to figure out that his team didn't score any goals while the other team scored goal after goal.  He was definitely discouraged, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for him to feel that.  (He's used to winning around here.) 

Go J go!

After a disappointing game, we went downtown for pizza and stumbled across a fun festival. 

We got to meet Curious George!

And the kids got their faces painted.

Oooooh!  Scary!

My two skeletons.

It turned out to be a really fun day.  Since Sarah's not napping anymore, we stayed out until 2pm or so.  As much as I miss her napping - it is fun to just stay out and do things! 

Jeremiah's first field trip!

This past week, Jeremiah had his first school field trip.  It was fun.  Hot...but fun!

We picked vegetables...

Went through a corn maze...

Took a crazy train ride through the fields...

Um...played in a corn box?  It was like a sand box.  With corn.

Corn Angels!!

Hot day + busy kids = SNOWCONE!

Feeding a sweet horse.

And a BIG pumpkin!

Sarah got one, too.

We had a fun day - the kids were great.  We were so dusty and sweaty that when we got home the kids took a bath, then a nap.  It was fantastic!  

Soccer!

Jeremiah started in the Laveen Soccer League last week.  We missed our first game, as we were basking in beautiful weather in Pinetop, but he's been enjoying practice SO MUCH!

All dressed and ready to go - shin guards and his soccer shirt!

He doesn't stop running the entire time!  I can't wait for his first game.

His coach is a friend's husband, so Jeremiah knows him.  He loves it, and of course, Sarah wishes she could play, too.  Today she cried because she couldn't join the 'huddle' before practice.  Poor thing!

Out Of Africa Wildlife Park!

We took a trip this past weekend to Camp Verde, to visit the Out of Africa Wildlife park.  It was so much fun!

Sarah and I, waiting for the "Safari Tour" to start.

The zebras came right up to the bus!

This guy was so cool (can't remember what he was called!)

J showing off his carrot, ready to feed the giraffe!

Missed the photo op of J feeding him - but this guy stuck his head right into our bus!

We saw the 'tiger splash' show - we were right in the front row, so the fence was a little in the way.  But...it was awesome - these people in there with the tiger might be certifiable!

Jeremiah got to feed the tiger!

And of course, whatever big brother does, Sarah must do, also. 

They both showed NO fear!

Even with this big lioness staring at them - probably no more than 10 feet away - they were like 'whatever'!

We had so much fun!

Puggles and Cubbies



We're about a month into Awana - and things are going so well!  Jeremiah knows the routine but his Cubbies class has grown quite a bit - I think there are 25 kids in his class.  Thankfully, there are at least 5 teachers.  He has a lot of friends in class from last year and also from Mops.  He's determined to get a teddy bear this year (that means he has to memorize every verse from his book!) and he's extremely motivated with that, so we're working hard on his verse every week. 

Sarah is warming up to Puggles.  This last class she didn't cry when she was dropped off (Shawn took her to class - maybe that's why) but she even told a teacher "I'm not crying today!"  She also didn't use her blankie, which she normally clings to for dear life.  I'm already noticing a difference in her vocabulary - she is trying to speak more clearly, since I think the teachers can't understand her like Shawn or I do.  So she's trying harder to pronounce her words correctly, which I love!  She also has several friends from Mops in her class, too.  

We are a nap-free home!

(except for Wednesdays). 

The week before Dza Dza came to visit, it was a STRUGGLE getting Sarah to nap.  It seemed like I spent 30 minutes getting her 'ready' and then I'd have to go in there every 10-15 minutes for over an hour before she'd finally settle down enough and sleep.  It was making me stressed out and cranky, so I just let the naps go.  We've been doing okay.  Sometimes the days feel really looooooonnnnnggg....but not all the time. 

The one exception is Wednesdays, when Jeremiah has Cubbies and Sarah has Puggles.  The kids are up later (830/9pm) than their normal 7pm bedtime, so they have to take a nap!

I just love this photo of Sarah.  She is so funny - we've been calling her "diva" - which turned into Jeremiah calling me a diva.  (I told him divas like to look pretty all the time, and he said: "Well, Mommy, you always look pretty."  Awwwwwwww!) 

Dza Dza!

My Dad came to visit last week and we had a fun time!  Unfortunately, one or more of us (not my Dad, thankfully) were sick during the whole visit.  BUMMER!  But I did manage to get some fun photos of our adventures. 

We can go outside!  In the afternoon!  YAY!

We always have donuts when Dza Dza comes to visit.  This little

princess enjoyed her pink sprinkles donut in her lovely dress.

We also always visit the Farm at South Mountain for breakfast!

The kids loved chasing Dza Dza around!

We went to the 'old mall' and of course the kids got to ride some of the rides.

I found those sunglasses at the Disney store for .99! 

She wore them throughout the mall....what a diva!

We stopped for snowcones!

And of course, the train park.  Sarah rode in the 'cattle car' for the first time.

And she didn't freak out!

And we went to Chuck E Cheese.

On Saturday evening. 

Yes, we are crazy.

The kids won a bunch of tickets and of course, junk.

We also visited our favorite, Scooptacular, EVERY DAY. 

My Dad loves ice cream!

We loved the visit!  Thanks for coming to see us!