Friends & Fun

Today was another eventful day. We started off the morning with our last MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting of the year. MOPS meets 2x a month during the school year. It is a nice change from MOMS Club because the kids are taken care of by volunteers from the church while the moms get together for a guest speaker, food and rejuvenation. I am not sure if I will go often next year because Morgan will be in Kindergarten and Adam will be in preschool on Thursday mornings. As much as I enjoy the fellowship of MOPS, I am pretty sure I am going to relish my alone time two mornings a week starting in the fall.

After MOPS we headed straight over to Chandler Mall to meet Gina, Mason & Madeline. We hung out at the play area for a while then grabbed a bite at California Pizza Kitchen. We decided to just get a grown-up sized pizza for us to share with the kids and a salad to split. That backfired. There wasn't enough pizza for the kids let alone Gina and me. Note to reader: CPK pizzas are actually pretty small! But, we had fun. The kids were wild. They really get nutty when they see each other. The four of them have been friends forever and they are so themselves and so crazy it is exhausting and yet fun to watch. After lunch, we hit a couple stores then the kids wanted to go to "the playplace with the kitchen stuff". They meant Pottery Barn Kids. We had to ask them to refrain from calling it the playplace in the store. LOL

The 3 M's posing by the fountain at Chandler Mall.

The kids enjoyed getting wet by the fountain.

After PBK, we played for a few more minutes at the play area then said our goodbyes and headed home. Of course, it was about 3:45 so Adam decided to nap. Fortunately, Kimberly called on our way home and invited us over to play. We got to her house after Adam had been out for about a half hour and I woke him up to see Dylan and Connor. I don't think he would have awoken so easily at home - nor so happily. He was groggy for a few minutes, then got straight into playing. I am hoping he burned a lot of energy so he won't be impossible to put to bed tonight. Kimberly and I were both husbandless tonight so she invited us to stay for dinner. It was really nice to catch up with her since she just returned from almost 2 weeks out of town.

Life is good. We have wonderful friends. And I have a terrific hubby who I am looking forward to coming home tomorrow!

Playdates

It is only Tuesday and we've already have several friends over for playdates. Yesterday morning, Paige came over to play while Laura went to the doctor. Then in the afternoon, our friends Spencer & Pierce and their au pair, Maja, came over between preschool and karate. It was nice - Maja ended up staying here with Adam and Pierce so I could workout at Curves after dropping off Morgan and Spencer at karate. My friend Ellen (Spencer & Pierce's mom) had a date with hubby Steve last night so I invited Maja and the kids to stay for dinner. It actually makes my life a lot easier when Jeremy is out of town to have friends over to entertain the kids.

Playing puppet show with Paige.

Cars with Pierce.

Goofing around with Spencer.

This morning, Laura, Mary & I met over at Cindy's house to talk about our upcoming Rocky Point trip. Afterwards, Mary, Anthony, Emily, Morgan, Adam and I headed over to Taco del Mar for lunch then the kids and I brought Anthony home with us for the afternoon. It was a little more stressful than usual because lately it has just been Adam and Anthony so it was a little hard on Adam to have to 'share' his best buddy with his sister. Overall, they did well though. We made space robots and 'phones' (yes, those phones do look an awful lot like birth control pill holders....).

Calling all robots, come in all robots.

Our creations.

Only 3 more sleeps until Jeremy comes home! But who is counting.... (ME!)

Happy Mother's Day & Sydney's Birthday Party

Happy Mother's Day! I didn't get any pictures from today, but let me just say how wonderful it was. The kids and Jeremy got me several new pairs of jammies, Jeremy cleaned the house and we took my mom out to dinner at Macaroni Grill. It was a lovely day.

Below is a picture of Morgan at her preschool Mother's Day presentation. As a group, the kids sang a beautiful song to the moms. Then each child presented his or her mom with a gift they made in class. I received a pretty photo album Morgan decorated and a cd of her being interviewed about me. It was funny and touching to hear what Morgan had to say. She is a gem!

Yesterday we helped Sydney celebrate turning 4 with her friends and family at Tolmachoff Farm. Everyone had a great time! The kids loved petting the animals, playing in the "3 Little Pigs" houses, riding the tractor-pulled train and just playing with their cousin and the other kids.

Little Pigs, Little Pigs... Let me in!

Cousin Callie and the birthday girl.

Grammy, Adam & me keeping cool in the shade.
Morgan and a super soft bunny.

Adam showing me a pig.

Sydney leading the ladybug train.

The ladybug express.

Jeremy and Grampy T racing ducks.

Jeremy showing Grandpa Vern his tricycle moves.

The birthday princess.

Another Busy Day

Today started out seeming fairly low-key, but that didn't last. After ballet, Paige came over to play. She was here until it was time to get Morgan to school. Then we went to the park with friends, then to Karate, then to the EAGLE College Prep groundbreaking ceremony and finally to the EAGLE PTO kick-off meeting. Phew. We didn't get home until after 8 PM tonight.

Pierce, Spencer Erik & Morgan at the local playground.

Adam & Pierce check out Karate class (that is MO in the orange belt).

Adam playing hide & seek.

The groundbreaking ceremony for EAGLE was really nice and we got to meet some of the school's administrators and governing board. We are excited about the school year and I am excited about being on the PTO.

Preparing to break ground.Breaking ground.

Future EAGLE Kindergartener Morgan and her new shovel.

Park with Grammy

Yesterday the kids and I went to my mom's house for a visit. Sydney was there too. Grammy told the girls to wear their pj's over so they did. When we got there, we had Monkey Bread (yum), visited with Uncle Mike before he headed to work and gave Sydney her b-day presents. She turned 4 on Cinco de Mayo.

I have been feeling really junky the last few days so my glorious mom offered to take the kids to the park while I napped. I snatched up that opportunity faster than Adam eats chocolate (which is fast). At the park, they ran into Grammy's neighbor and Morgan's pal, Allysa. Here are a couple pictures that my mom took during their outing. I would love to do some commentary, but I was snoozing at the time. (Hooray!)

3 Cuties (2 still in pj's) - Sydney, Morgan and & Allysa

Adam had so much fun playing he exhausted himself and actually (gasp) napped.

Last Wednesday & Thursday...

Last Wednesday the kids and I stayed close to home. Our big outings for the day were driving to school, running into our friends Spencer and Pierce at the local park and going to karate. Anthony came over to visit Adam during Morgan's time at school, but mostly it was just the 3 of us (Jeremy in NY) hanging out. Here are the kids in the backyard enjoying some homemade popsicles.

On Thursday night, Jeremy's flight was delayed out of Denver and I just needed a break so the kids and I met Kimberly, Dylan and Connor at Applebee's for dinner. Check my head for thinking that mediocre food with bad service and four young kids would constitute any sort of relaxation! Kimberly and I got a bit of a chance to chat, but mostly it was kid-control. Our kids are like siblings so they know how to push each other's buttons. They definitely love each other though.

Camping at Apache Lake

Today we returned from our Apache Lake camping adventure. It was a great trip! We went with our usual camping crew - the Adams-Urbinatos & the Kennedys plus this time we were joined by Apitchaya Miller and her two girls as well as our good friends the Dominguez family.

The weekend began with a harrowing drive to the Burnt Corral Camping Ground via Apache Junction. It was a bumpy dirt road for about 25 miles - parts of which were one way lanes and bridges. However, I was too carsick to be scared which is probably a good thing. The kids were watching a movie and not paying too much attention to the heights or sights, but Morgan did comment that the ride was 'fun'.

Adam enjoying the view upon arrival at the campsite.

Once we got there and pitched our tents we played for a while, had an enjoyable spaghetti dinner and roasted marshmallows on the fire. Kids of all ages love s'mores!

Making s'mores.

The next day, we drove about 8 miles back down the bumpy dirt road to the Apache Lake Marina. Unfortunately, we didn't get there early enough to rent a pontoon. In fact, the only two boats left were motorized row boats so we got a couple and took turns taking rides. I didn't go (darn), but Jeremy and the kids had a great time. I would like to give it a try next time if we get a bigger boat, have more time and I remember my dramamine. LOL

Daddy & Adam prepare to launch.

Morgan & Anthony model their life jackets.

Playing at the beach by our campsite.

Emily is such a cutie!

On Saturday night, it was our turn to provide a meal. Together with the Dominguez family we made tinfoil chicken fajitas. It was a lot of work to prepare, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. After dinner we made more s'mores and Mary showed me how to make Banana Boats in the fire. Basically, you cut a strip in the banana, scoop some out and put some chocolate and marshmallows in the hole. Then you put the top of the banana back on, wrap it in tin foil and throw it in the fire to bake. Only Mary, Morgan and I ventured a taste, but I thought they were yummy.

Mommy & Adam snuggling by the fire Sunday morning.

Mary reading to the kids.

Allysa brought glowsticks for the kids on Friday night and silly string for Saturday night. She was getting teased for being anti-evironmental for the silly string, but the kids went nuts for it. We just had to clean it up after. Allysa & David also brought a tent for the kids to play in. So smart!

Allysa reveals the silly string to the kids.

Pete post-string attack.

During our stay, Pete Kennedy supervised the crawdad trap that our sometimes camping buddies the Matsch family let us borrrow. We not only caught crawdads, we caught some fish. The kids loved this. They put the catch in buckets to observe then threw them back into the water.

Pulling in the crawdad trap.

We drove home via Globe-Miami which is a longer drive, but less bumpy and more scenic. We drove by Roosevelt Dam so had to get out and take a picture. We ran into Suzanne, Pete & Claire there. They had stopped for a picnic lunch. It was a beautiful view, I can see why.

Anthony, Claire, Morgan & Emily posing by the Roosevelt Dam bridge.

We will definitely go back to Apache Lake again. Our campsite was gorgeous. Right on the water, with lots of shade and decent bathrooms. The partiers were a bit annoying (who launches a boat at 3:00 AM?!), but clearly people who don't have young kids don't know or forget...