1st Grade Field Trip

What happens when 200 Sycamore 1st Graders take over the Sonoran Desert Museum? Good times and a lot of energy. A very polite and helpful dad Carlos helped me wrangle four boys around the museum. They ran from exhibit to exhibit, knocking each other over at every chance they could like BOYS always do. The weather was a perfect mid 70's, only in Arizona can you count on perfect weather in November. Oh, and little Charley sat in her stroller and endured the bumps and boys in stride. She loved having Big Carlos drive her around in her limo all morning long.






CJ and Brodie are funny buddies. Brodie loves to stop at the docent stations, this snow owl was so beautiful and calm even with all the crazy kids around her. Amazing what animals can put up with in captivity.

Just another day

It's just a regular day at our house. I've been cleaning out junk drawers today, looking for a missing item with still no luck. Meanwhile, the kids are having fun with a box, who needs toys when you can play with the box. Can you believe Charley is 11 1/2 months old already!

We'll be offline this week while we wait for our new internet service provider... I'll be lost without all of you.

From the sidelines

Have I mentioned that Jake doesn't like to lose? He is so intense when he is on the field or court. A true competitor. The football game was action packed today. Brodie ran for a touchdown in the opening minutes of the game. Than back and forth on offense and defense. Jake caught a pass for a touchdown just before half time to tie up the game. During the second half Jake had the ball intercepted in front of him, he pulled the kid's flag to the ground. The very next play Jake intercepted the ball and ran it in for a touchdown. He doesn't like to lose and he doesn't like to be scooped. This season we have seen him really turn his frustration of a bad play into action. He plays smart and watches the competition closely to understand their plays, analyze abilities and improve his own skills. Then he comes home and watches the college and pros play and thinks about how he can improve himself. He really is a player. I'm excited to be his sideline cheerleader!

Sew as you go

Today was a sick day. Jake has been coughing all weekend, so I thought one more day of R&R would help in the recovery process. Brodie stayed home to keep Jake company. Argh. Brodie should have gone to school, it would have made the rest and relaxation a little easier on all of us. The healthy kid just can't help but to BUG the sick kid.

To distract them both we started a little sewing project. I read the directions to my new, yet old sewing machine and figured out how to keep the thread in the needle and bobbin. Jake's new Scout chairwoman, Nan is a rock star and wants all the boys to look tip top for Cub Scouts each week. So we purchased the troop number and Catalina badge.

The boys watched in awe as I actually sewed something that looked like it was suppose to in the end. They both got so excited that they too wanted to try out the machine, so they made little bean bags. Which later became missals and weapons to inflict pain. It was a fun little project and kept us all entertained for at least a half an hour. The best part was when I folded the sewing machine back into the table, Jake thought that was the coolest thing ever. Here is what Charley does when mom is cooking. Isn't she cute? Another day in our lives.

Some days

I'd like to think that my sweet girl is perfectly charming all the time. But then I know it's a lie. Some days she is just off. Today we spent the morning babysitting Jett at his house and all was going along great, both babies slept the first hour and a half. Then they woke up within 15 minutes of each other. These two are just 5 months apart in age, but miles apart in personalities. Jetter is on the go go, walking everywhere, while Charley is content to crawl. Charley was a wimp today. She cried when she didn't get the toy she wanted, she cried when I left the room and she cried when she just wasn't happy. It was one of those mornings. It made me think that I could be in BIG TROUBLE, Girl Trouble that is. She is 100% girl. Yikes. This could be just the beginning.

Letting the darkness in

Today I relinquished my blond highlights for my more natural brown roots. (At least I think it is my natural color, I've been highlighting since my junior year of high school). Funny thing, my eyebrows now match my hair color. Over the last couple of weeks I've watch the roots stretch out across my part and I even saw a few grays peeking out. Argh, does this mean that the thirty something in me has found her voice, er color? The cut is a little too short, but it will grow and with time I might get use to it. For now, it's the new me... what do you think? Be nice, I'm still a little unsure myself.

Kids in costume what's not to love

Halloween has come and gone, the pumpkins are starting to droop.
We had our sugar, Carmel apples, chocolate bars and gum.
But now it's time to clean up the gloop.
We're glad the Best family join us for another year of fun.
Jake is the scary skeleton.
Jett's the cute skeleton.
Caelin is the sassy Pirate Chic.
Brodie's the scary Vampire.
Jace is Darth Vadar.
Charley is our pixie fairy.
And Casey is 8 months pregnant and still cute as ever.
Thanks to all my ghouls and boys for the night of treating and a few tricks.