Shout out!

Niece Gabby and SIL Abby

This is just a quick shout out to my adorable SIL Abby! She is Jake's youngest sister. Tomorrow night she's going to be on NCIS! We're really excited for her now that the strike is over and she can finally get back to work like the rest of us....oh, to have a strike that I could somehow benefit from!

I'm not sure what time it's on...either 7 or 8. It's on CBS, that's channel 5 for you Arizona folk.

Be sure to watch! We're so excited because NCIS is Jake's favorite show and she got the entire cast to sign her script for him!

What a peach!!!

Post-a-thon...

I know, 4 posts in one day is a bit much, but I like to think of it as, "good worker, kon. way to keep us all informed on your lives that we're desperately dying to hear about!" I'm sure that's exactly what's going on in all of your heads at this very moment. Here it goes... Blake has officially started t-ball and Jake is (of course) his coach again this year. Actually, Raegan has also started t-ball and I (laugh now) am her coach , as well. Our lives have indefinitely become busy. I went to the store today and bought more ready-to-eat frozen meals than I have ever done in the past 8 years of marriage combined. Usually I'm against them! I must be a food snob. No, because I like anything and I don't have aversions to much except fresh eggs from my parents (I don't like knowing where they came from), any eggs from a restaurant, goat cheese or bleu cheese, and frozen meals. Anything else, I will eat at least once. How did this become about food anyway?

Blake was so cute at his first game last week . I love watching all of the kids try to figure out what to do after they've all tackled each other to get the ball. I love when they do remember to throw it to first, only to discover that the first baseman is tying his shoe, posing for a picture, or *yuck* just picking his nose. It usually ends with a bonk on the head and tears. I love the fact that Blake loves to play and wears *way to big for him* batting gloves to hit the ball from the tee. And when he's on third base, ready to score, he gets my attention to say, "Watch what I'm gonna do, mom!" Go Riverdogs!

The haircut...

I finally talked Raegan into getting her hair cut on Friday. She was very against it for a long time because her daddy had taught her that every time I asked her if she wanted her hair cut, she was supposed to say, "nope, daddy likes it long!" And that is what she did. I finally decided that it wasn't really her choice (or his) because it desperately needed to be cut! I knew she would love it once it was done. I took her to visit Aunt Sherry who is the manager at Epic Salon. Her only stipulation was that Aunt Sherry had to give her a sucker at the end...no problem. She was so great during the cut and I think it turned out really cute. It's so easy and fun and Raegan keeps telling me, "it doesn't even get tangly, mom!" Jake loved the surprise when he got home from work and he thinks it makes her look just like his sisters...especially Sara. I completely agree and even if they all hated it, it's still easier and healthier and I love it!

Enjoying the weather...

About the time March rolls around each year, I do all I can to spend most of the day outside. Being a lifer living in Arizona, I understand the beauty of the March and April months. If we're lucky, May too, but we're NEVER that lucky. Anyway, during the past few weeks I have been hanging laundry on the clothes line outside, eating lunch in the backyard, (sometimes even breakfast and dinner), and spending hours and hours playing in the yard. I love that our playroom door also opens up to the backyard. A couple weeks ago I had washed all of our bedding and had it hanging outside when I looked out and saw the girls dancing and playing. I had to get some pictures of them because I love the colors of this time of year and the simplistic feeling of line dried clothes. For some reason it makes me feel care-free and so do these pictures...

A little piece of heaven...

I'm not usually a fan of the slide shows, but we had the BEST vacation to Mexico during spring break! And seriously....how do you just pick a few of the favorites from the entire week? The weather was beautiful (after Tuesday) and the kids had so much fun. My favorite part was watching how content they were with just playing outside all day. What I learned: :: Blake will never get tired of hitting a wiffle ball...if you'll pitch, he'll be your best friend! :: Raegan is content to play in the sand all day and is amazingly unfazed by the sand chafing! :: Sarah is fearless and loved to be in the water. Her favorite place to be was waist high in the waves...alone! :: I still don't tan without the help of fake sun... I just freckle! :: Jake loves having a week with the kids and no work. He plays just as hard as they do! And is super HOTT! :: My brother K.C. is so great with kids and an amazing uncle! :: His wife, Sherry, is one of my all time favorite people around! :: I have wonderful parents and they're incredible vacationers! They know how to relax when it's time! :: Listening to Jack Johnson on the beach is the ultimate in relaxation... Anyone up for a great vacation? We've decided to go again in July because it was such a great trip~come along!

Kindergarten field trip

Just before spring break I got to go on a field trip with Blake's kindergarten classes at Edison. We went to Superstition farm and toured the dairy. It was great seeing the excitement of Blake's first bus ride and getting to go on his first field trip! We saw cows, goats, chickens and bunnies. When we first arrived, they told us that one of their momma cows was having a baby right then and they rushed us over to see. Luckily, the kindergartners missed the anatomy lesson, but they were highly confused about the whole situation. At first, they thought the baby calf was dead, but by the time we left, it was up and walking around. I gained a greater appreciation for the price of milk and I probably won't be complaining about it any more. It takes a lot of work to be a dairy farmer! Did you know that it's only about 12 hours from when the cow is milked until it's put on the shelves in the grocery store? Amazing!

The worms...

this week the girls and i had some fun digging in the backyard for worms. somehow they got the idea that they needed a pet and a worm would do the job! luckily, it didn't take me too long to find a couple of juicy fat ones. raegan quickly named her's harold (12 dancing princesses) and sarah's became dora. they spent the afternoon playing with them and taking their worms on rides in the stroller. it was a ver eventful afternoon. the girls were way too chicken to actually touch their new little pets, but i told them that if they wanted to keep them, they needed to learn how to hold them. probably not the best idea on my part! by this point, raegan's worm had become tom'n ("like tom'n jerry, mom"). poor little tom'n and dora unfortunately suffered tragic deaths at the hands of their very loving owners. while sarah was on the phone telling her daddy all about her new pet, i realized that she was squishing and rolling him between her fingers! the funny part was that she had no idea that it had done him any harm and so she continued to push that little mass of 'once-worm' all over the house in her stroller!