Christmas in AZ

Joy is putting up Christmas lights in a t-shirt and not having to worry about snow, ice, or bitter cold temps.

Or not even having to wear a shirt.....
Or when your neighbor moves and asks you if you want some furniture for free......

Best Friends

So lucky to have each other.

Out to dinner after getting tired of Thanksgiving leftovers. Tried a new restaurant called Bravi Tuscan Kitchen. Had wood fired pizzas that were ok and the kids had their usual, mac n' cheese. We only go places that serve mac n cheese.

More of Thanksgiving Weekend

Like we do every year after Thanksgiving, we got all the Christmas decoration boxes down and spent a day putting them up and playing Christmas music. Pete found it all to be too much work but Jamie on the other hand loved it!

Little Sugar Ball helping us decorate for Christmas.Bringing all of her babies to lunch.
Friday night we went downtown to Glendale Glitters. Had a great time seeing the lights, paying lots of money for the kids to play on the bouncy things, ate some yummy ice-cream and fought giant crowds of people just to walk around.



Pete and his best friend in the whole world. He gives spontaneous hugs to his daddy and says, "We're pals. Mom, take a picture of us."

Thanksgiving

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our aunt and uncle. It has been a lovely holiday weekend of family time, relaxation and Christmas decorating.

Coyotes Game

A co-worker of P.'s couldn't use two of his Coyotes tickets so Pete got to go to his first hockey game! Yay for Boy's Night Out. He loved it and has been howling like a coyote for days!

Stuff To Do

There are so many things to do when you have kids. I hear about something new almost every day. We could stay busy every day for a year I think and not do or go to the same place twice. Well, maybe not but what I am trying to say is that having kids is somuch fun and we love finding new things to do.

A friend of mine told me about Story Time with Mother Goose held at the Anthem Outlet Mall just north of our house. So we tried it out. It was great. So great. Story time, snacks, coloring, giveaways and shopping if you want. They also have a play area in the middle of the stores. We had such a fun time and there were some Christmas decorations already up to check out!

They gave away two prizes and Pete won one of them. It was an AZ Cardinals bag. As you came in they gave you one ticket per child and picked numbers at the end. I would have rather had the other prize, a book, but was thankful for our luck! Pete was so excited and I loved watching him claim his prize.

A bunch of friends and I got one of those online deals for this gymnastics place. I paid $15 for each kid for 6 open gym sessions each at this huge gym that has trampolines, rings, foam pits, balance beams, and these big pads made into an obstacle course to climb on. It was totally worth it. Totally. Kids had so much fun and were exhausted when we had to leave. Kids left kicking and screaming and begging to go back! I was exhausted too. Do you know how much work it is to climb in those foam pits and fish your children out to the top, 150 times? :)

Will he still love helping his dad vacuum when he is 16?

Hiking

Kids that love to hike + a hiking preserve right down the road= lots of great family time outside together!

Jamie made it all the way to the top, by herself, and before all of us lagging behind!

Me and my hikers.

So sad this pic is blurry but it's still so cute. My kids are best friends and love each other so much. They are so lucky to have each other and I hope they always remember that!

Jamie sure loves her oranges!

Proof

Here is proof I was thinking about the kids while on vacation.

Taking Advantage

The hubby and I took advantage of having the in-laws in town and gave ourselves a little vacation to CA without the kids. My in-laws took over as care givers to the kiddos and we drove to one of our favorite places for 3 whole nights. I have to admit, it is getting easier to leave the kids. I wasn't worried about them, that much, and I really enjoyed our time away. Our getaway consisted of sleeping in, breakfast in bed, walks along the beach, shopping, meals at amazing restaurants consisting mostly of seafood, naps, reading, watching sunsets, and watching HGTV! Ooooh it was fun to have cable and no kids around! :) I did miss the kids. Especially when I called and heard their voices. But I knew they were safe and comfortable in their own home and that we would be home soon to be with them again. I almost cancelled our vacation due to guilt, money, and anxiety over leaving the kids but I am so glad I didn't. We went, we had an amazing time and I can't wait to do it again someday.

Pete did ask me when we got home why he didn't get to go on a vacation too. He wasn't very happy about the whole situation.