The Lowdown in A-Town

I know, it's been over a month.  I feel like I should apologize, but I don't want too.  Life got a little crazier this past month.  I hit a blogging wall.  And, well, it is what it is.  Truly, the main reason I'm blogging again is because lately I've been thinking thoughts like "That would be a fun post to put on the blog." and "I really should write about that."  So here I am, and here is what's been going on around these parts....

Cy - Got on Honor Roll.  So proud!  Reading like a champ and getting the attitude of a 14 year old.  Seriously, where did this come from?  His favorite phrase right now, "I don't care.".

Me - "Cy, that pencil is broken, go get a new one."

Cy - "I don't care."

Me - "What  do you mean you don't care?  That pencil won't work, you have to get a new one.  It doesn't matter whether you care or not, these are the facts.  Go get a new pencil!"

Cy - "I don't care."

Me - "What?!?!  Do you even know what you're saying???"

Cy - "I don't care."

You get the picture.  He never uses that phrase when he gets in trouble and loses something, oh no, THAT he most certainly cares about!  It never seems to make sense when he says "I don't care."  So frustrating.  He is still doing soccer.  He loves it although he barely touches the ball.  It's kind of frustrating to watch.  He runs his little heart out, gets within inches of the ball and then comes to complete stop and waits to see what everyone else is going to do.  Sigh.  At least he's enjoying himself, right?  That's what I keep telling myself on the sidelines while I count to ten and take deep calming breaths.  Today Cy gave me a Thanksgiving card that said "You are the best mommy ever and I love you very munch."  Kind of made me feel bad for yelling at him to hang up his jacket, put away his backpack, etc. etc.  He really is a sweet, smart, and funny kid.

Princess - Got perfect attendance for the first quarter.  She was so proud and so were we.  She is breezing through her phonics and ahead of the game in patterns and penmanship.  Now if only I could get her to understand why shot doesn't rhyme with shoe, we'd be in business.  She just can't seem to grasp the concept that rhyming sound happens at the end of the word, not at the beginning.  Personally, I'm at a loss.  Any help from the teachers out there, ahem Aunt Kol, would be appreciated.  She finished her first dance class in October and she lost her first tooth last week.  We discovered that she is a bleeder.  We will keep more paper towels on hand next time we pull out a tooth to save our carpet and her clothes.  She loves to talk and will ask me question after question.  When my frustration starts to show through she will end her 20/20 question session with this:

Princess:  Mommy?

Me:  (Exasperated) WHAT?!?!

Princess: I love you.

Me:  (Deflated) Oh, I love you too.

That girl, she's a smart one.  Oh, and she gives the BEST hugs.  Sigh.  I hope she never grows out of those hugs.

The Beast - is still, well, beastly.  He's also become quite the little manipulator.  At bedtime he'll snuggle up with you and be perfectly still and sweet so you hesitate to put him to bed.  Next thing you know it's been an hour and he's still snuggled up on your lap.  Smart kid.  I love it and it melts my heart every time he does it.

He says Thank You, hello, you, more, momma, dadda, Carma, Cyrus, no bar (cereal bar), no gurt (yogurt), no, no, and no again, bed, sah (sorry), ball, bebe (baby), ruf, and many more that I can't think of right now because it's midnight, and I'm tired.  He is a "Sour Patch Kid".  Remember those commercials for the sour patch candies, where the candy does something really naughty like cut off someones pigtail, then it immediately turns around and apologizes for it?  Ya, that's the Beast.  He'll smack you in the face with one hand while stroking your cheek and saying "Sah" (sorry) with the other.  He is coming into his own personality wise and he keeps me laughing a good portion of the day.  Today he licked my cheek while panting and saying "ruf".  It was gross and cute at the same time so of course I sent him over to Dave so he wouldn't miss out on the puppy action.

Dave- still working for the Boys and Girls Club. He got a new video game that he enjoys playing whenever I am occupied elsewhere.  I'm pretty sure that he is looking forward to the end of the soccer season as much as I am.  We've had more 8:00 am games than I care to remember.  Great dad, great husband.  Yep, that pretty much sums Dave up.

Me- well, lately I've been busy being Holly Homemaker.  I've been making soups/stews from scratch and yesterday I successfully made bread.  It was quite yummy and I enjoyed the finished product so much that I will probably make it again.  I don't know how long this spurt of homemakingness will last, but I'll ride this wave till it peters out and I move on to my next thing.  Am I the only one who does this?  Goes through stages of being super clean, or super organized, or super homemakey

That, my friends and family, is what is happening in our neck of the desert.  Now, that I'm done writing this, I see that it reads just like a classic Christmas Newsletter so instead of sending one out with our Christmas cards I will refer everyone to this post, scan a copy of our Christmas Card, and call it good.  Two birds with one stone and another thing crossed off my to-do list.  I feel so efficient.

definitly NOT on the diet

Remember when  I talked about the BWLC?  Well, to celebrate me the kids surviving making it through the first week of school I we decided to go out and celebrate by stuffing my face with every greasy, and unhealthy thing I could find by going out to dinner and dessert.  We hit our local Johnny Rockets (Where kids eat free all day, every day *with the purchase of an adult entree and beverage) (Always read the fine print.  Trust me.  That way you don't go in under the mistaken assumption that you can order water with your food and end up having to spend like an extra 6 bucks on drinks.  I'm not bitter.  Okay, maybe just a little.)  Johnny Rockets also happens to be next to our FAVORITE yogurt shop, Yogurtland.  Yum!  Seriously, that should be the name of the place, Yogurtland...Yum!  That would be awesome.  Maybe I should send them an email.....

Anyhow, this night out was decidedly NOT on the diet, but it was glorious!  The carbs that we consumed were like manna from heaven.  They were like rain to a drought ravaged land.  They were like.....well you get the idea.  So here, for your viewing pleasure, is photographic evidence of our gluttony.  Enjoy!  We sure did!

The older they get, the harder it is to get a real natural smile in a picture.  What's up with that?!?!

And WHY can't they ever freakin' look at the camera!!!!

Because sitting still for any amount of time is too much to ask......

Cy's favorite ketchup art, a pirate! (or so he said.)

My Double Patty Bacon Cheeseburger.  In my defense, I did ONLY want the single patty, but Dave and I were sharing entrees and he demanded requested the double.  IT WAS SO GOOD.  Seriously, my mouth is salivating as I'm typing.

Dave's Chicken Bacon Club.  It was pretty good too.

After inhaling enjoying "all the fries you can eat", we loosened our belt buckles, unbuttoned our pants, and headed over to Yogurtland (insert Hallelujah chorus here).

She NEVER finishes her yogurt.  Who's kid is this?!?!

My divine masterpiece.  Kay, now my drooling is just getting embarrassing....

I was sharing with the Beast, or trying too, he liked Dave's better.  Works for me!

This is one of their new flavors.  I wanted to stick my mouth under the spout and eat it by the gallon but I wasn't sure how they would weigh that, so.....I restrained myself. (Also, Dave threatened to leave me if I embarrassed him.  Whatever, he should totally be used to that by now)

A true Yogurtland master at work. 

I'm already looking for the next reason to go out and celebrate.  I'm thinking the fact that I just wrote this blog is reason enough!  It should at least get me a trip to Yogurtland, don't ya think?

What?!?!

Fine.

I'll wait til something more worthwhile comes along like winning the freakin' BWLC.

Then I'm gonna gorge myself silly!

You're gonna have to roll me outta there!  Three cheers for Yogurtland!

Land of the Lost: Mesa Style

Cy loves dinosaurs.

We happen to have a museum in Mesa that has a whole section devoted to dinosaurs.

It's a little pricey.

We're on a pretty tight budget.

It's free the first Sunday of every month from 12-4, until the end of the year.

So, guess what we did last Sunday? (judge if you want, I don't care)

We made our oldest son's wildest dreams come true, and he LOVED. EVERY. MINUTE. OF. IT.

Greeted by the skeleton of a Prehistoric Mammoth

He saw this skeleton across the room and said, "Oh, my FAVORITE!  Mom, it's a Triceratops!"

Cy made sure to educate us on almost every dinosaur we saw.  He informed us which ones ate plants and which ones ate meat.  He also gave us his professional opinion on which dino he thought would win in a fight with another dino.

On the third level, looking down.

The Beast begging to get out of the stroller.  He DID NOT get his wish.  Can you even imagine what would've happened had I unleashed the Beast in that museum?  Oy!

Just kickin' it in the Universe.

I'm a star baby!

Serving time in the original Mesa jail.  How much do you think it would cost to have this installed in my house?  Just asking.....

Crawling through a lava tube.

Look at the joy on that kid's face!  He was in HEAVEN!

Afterwards we headed over to our good friends Stacy and Derek's house.  They live on the east side, we live on the west side.  The times are few and far between that we are able to get together.  In the last two months we've been able to get together 3 times and though I can't speak for Stacy, well, actually I can because I know we are on the same page, getting together this often has been a wake up call.  Derek and Dave are best friends from childhood.  Dave and I got married in August of 2002 and Stacy and Derek got married in November of 2002.  Stacy and I clicked almost immediately and we've been close friends ever since.  We have a blast when we are together AND our kids LOVE each other.  They are all around the same age and totally entertain each other.  I wish I would've taken some pictures, but I didn't.  However, if I had, you would've have seen this little guy

running around with his pants on backwards and doing flips on, off, and around the couch.  You also would have seen this dude

running the show and using the Force to conquer Wipeout on the Kinect.  Finally, you would have seen these two beautiful people

winning at Deal Monopoly (Way to go Derek!) and making me laugh til I about peed my pants!

Overall, it was a fabulous day on the east side and totally worth the late night, grumpy kids(the following morning), and the dead battery.  Til the 27th S&D, til the 27th.  Oh and let's hurry up and plan that cabin trip.  I'm itching to hang out with you guys for longer than a few hours!

*All pictures stolen borrowed from Stacy's blog.  Thanks Stacy! 

Scenes From A Sunday: Pukefest 2011

Yesterday was no ordinary Sunday.  We decided to have a rockin' puke party!  What you didn't get the invite?  Oh, I'm so sorry you missed out.  Here's a copy of the invite and some pictures of our FANTABULOUS time.

You're Invited to Attend Pukefest 2011!

When:  May 15, 2011

Where:  My house in Hotter than Hades, AZ

Why:  Because let's face it, who doesn't enjoy a good pukefest every now and then!

Refreshments will be served (gatorade and crackers).  Also it is BYOB (bring your own bowl) and CUYODM (clean up your own damn mess), so make sure you come prepared!

Entertainment is also provided in the form of Netflix and possible projectile vomiting, but only if you're really lucky and the moment is JUST RIGHT.

FYI:  If it's coming out the other end you are still welcome to come, however please keep in mind that bathroom space is limited and that we have a first come, first served policy.

And now....scenes from the party!

Jealous?  Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be having another party sooner rather than later.  When you have kids that you have to constantly remind to wash their hands after going to the bathroom and a toddler who thinks everything is edible, pukefests are bound to happen.  Next time I will make sure you get the invite. 

No need to thank me.  Your welcome!

Scenes From A Sunday: Late Easter Weekend Edition

I was looking through the pictures on my camera when I realized I never blogged about Easter.  The day started out with a visit from the Easter Bunny.

I don't know what the Easter Bunny was thinking bringing those plastic flutes.  I will be having a talk with him next year.

Always a diva.

I SCORED!

Then we got all ready for church in our new Easter finery.

After a beautiful time at church we headed over to Grandma's house.  We had a fun and candy filled Easter Egg Hunt and then a yummy Easter dinner. 

Egg hunting time!

Princess was like a homing pigeon for eggs.  Her basket was twice as full as everyone else's and five times as full as the Beast's.  The Beast, after finding one egg, decided he had had enough and promptly sat down to enjoy his treasure.  Poor Cy.  He wasn't quite as fast as Princess so after the hunt I relocated some of her eggs to his basket.

I am so grateful for the Savior's Atonement and Resurrection.  Easter is a beautiful holiday full of hope and joy.  I know that my Redeemer lives.