Huzzah!

Today we went to the Arizona Renaissance Festival with Mandy and her 3 boys. This is the 1st time the boys have been to festival since Bryce was a baby. Mark and I also have not been since Bryce was a baby so we were looking forward to spending the day outside with all the kids taking in the sites and sounds of the Renaissance Fest. Right inside the doors was the first item the kids wanted to try JACOBS LADDER.
Next the boys wanted to slingshot up into the air on giant trampolines hooked up to giant bungies. Both boys enjoyed jumping straight into the air but were not adventurous enough to do any flips or tricks (that is until they got off)...lol.

Once the boys were done jumping we stumbled upon the fire whip show. While we waiting for the show to start they boys played and ran around the grass field. The whip show was fun and keep everyone entertained with witty humor and lots of different kinds of whips. The show ended with fireballs and a half dressed man..lolWe walked around a bit more, ate huge turkey legs, watched 3 guys and a bunch of drums, and made candles and sand art while I got my hair braided. Bryce and Mandy's boys even pet and fed lambs and saw rabbits and chickens. The boys enjoyed a few more games and rides like: pillow fight's, large rocking horse rides, and riding on Columbus's Ship the Niña. Then it was off to watch the last joust of the day. Where it was a fight to the death.

We sat on the hero side at the joust with the Hero in Black and White. The joust was fun and the boys really enjoyed all the action and in the end our hero won the fight.
On the way out of the event we stopped to watch a bird man magician. At one point in his show he pulled Bryce out of the audience to help him with a trick. It was a great day that I would love to do again (maybe next year).

Queen? Princess? Worn Out Mom?

Ok, before I post this photo I need to preface this with there is a reason I am not in most photos. This is a special photo since Kyle wanted his turn for the "photo of the day" picture. He came in the living room after "cleaning" and placed a "crown" on my head (the camera tripod). Then picked up the camera and wanted to take photos...I protested since my hair is a mess, no makeup, sloppy house clothes, and lounging playing on the computer. I stuck my tounge out and made silly faces but I finally let him take my picture since I love him. So this may be one of the few photos you will get to see of me on my blog!

Didn't your mom ever tell you to sit up straight.

Bryce took over the camera for the evening. He was so excited to be able to take the "picture of the day". My blogging pictures are a highlight for the boys. So off he went upstairs to take pictures of his brother, or the tv, or my messy desk. I did find this one good photo of how Kyle sits while watching TV, mind you we do have a couch upstairs that is more comfortable and father away from the TV. The boys still sit in the computer chairs with their feet on my desk.

Sweet Circles Commercial

Today was Kyle's Sweet Circles Commercial at school. Him and 3 of his classmates had to present their script and show off their product. Each child had a part to speak and they had to taste the product. After a few practice runs the kids pulled off all their lines. Once they all took a bite they were all supposed to say the end of the script in unison. Problem was that a few of the children had food in their mouths when it came time to say their lines. It was so cute....I hope to have a copy of the commercial within a few days and I will try to post it.

A visit from Jack Frost.

As you may know where we live in Arizona there is not much snow uless you live in some of the higher elevations. What we do get on occasion is frost. This morning when I woke up there was frost on the mulch in the playground area. I thought it looked so pretty I had to take a picture. I know you may think I am a freak but I really like the look of frost on windows and grass. So while we may not get snow I will look forward to days like this when I get a visit from Jack frost. On the other hand Mark was not so happy that he had to sit in the car for 5 minutes or more waiting for the car to defrost enough to drive! :)

Birthday Sunday

Seth was turning 5 in a few days so Sunday after church we headed on over to Lazer Quest for some shooting and video games. After the Laser tag we headed to the park to feed the ducks, play and run, eat cupcakes, and play and run! It was an awesome day.

Who knew volunteering could be so much fun!

Today we volunteered for the Disney Give a Day Get a Day Program. The program we picked was picking fruit at a retirement community we thought it something the boys could doand would be FUN. They had too many volunteers so we knew that we would have to share our fruit pickers with each other but I was happy to help the kids find the fruit, sometimes line up the picker for the boys, and take pictures! Kyle had soooo much fun using the picker pole and had to be reminded to share with Bryce. Mark also had a lot of fun pulling down fruit and hardly ever (maybe once) gave up his pole...lol. After about 45 minutes into our 3 hr shift the trees were almost all picked, the boxes under them were full and the rain started comming down harder. The organizers said we had done our share and told everyone to go home. So Disneyland will be on our vacation schedule probably some time this fall.

Bedtime Routine

We have has the same bed time routine since the kids were young. You would think that we would have it down to a science and I guess most days we do but some days it can be a bit crazy and silly. Once it is time to start getting ready for bed the kids get their medicine and then go upstairs to brush their teeth. You would be surprised some nights how long those 2 steps can take. While upstairs they are also supposed to put on their Pj's or in Kyle's case just take off his clothes...lol. Once they are ready Kyle will usually come to the top of the stairs to yell down "I'm ready but Bryce is not" which is our cue that they are close to ready to be tucked in and kissed goodnight. Mark and I switch off rooms kissing and tucking in the boys where Bryce usually tells us "I love you more than Kyle". Once both the kids are tucked in and lights are out Mark and I go downstairs for some quiet time watch T.V. and Facebooking.

Rock Collection

I know, I Know! Not more pictures of rocks! I never said my life was glamorous. This is PART of Kyle's rock collection that started out as Mark's rock collection when he was a kid. Kyle is really into rocks so every year when it is time to learn about rocks at school we always bring in the ones we have. Kyle and I spent some time this evening sorting through them and labeling the ones we remembered. I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture so we can recall where they all go again if they get mixed up. We are also bringing some other rocks and some books to class to show and display so the kids can learn.

Rhino Rides with Friends!

Our presidents gave us a great day off of school and work! We took some new found friends out to Rolls to play on the Rhino. Melissa and Miguel have 3 little munchkins that were just dying to go for a ride...oh who we kidding they all were! We found a spot near the bathrooms so that we did not have to go far with 5 kids. I have to say giving rides to 7 people takes quite a bit of time and some bickering among the kids but after 2 rides for everyone I think that we can honestly say that everyone had a GREAT time. Next time we go with a large group we either need the extension for the Rhino to seat 4 or need to rent some quads or something. We had picnics and went on hikes looking for fossils and crystals. The kids played with balls, colored, played in the van and went on rides! There were only 2 accidents with cactus prickers and 1 rabbit scare (thought it might be a snake). Here are some pictures from the day. Oh and I shot the sunset picture going 75 mph on the highway on the way back home....lol

Through the eyes of a child

Today we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa after church. I brought the camera along to take blog photos but the boys took all the photos today and so I thought I would blog the pictures they took. Some of the pictures they took were of their magnetix creations, others were close-ups of all of us. Sometimes it is great to really look at what kids find worthy of taking a photo of. All of these photos are unedited so sorry if they are a bit close-up or fuzzy.