Spring Hike--Papago Park

They say each picture is worth a thousand words.....so, here are 6000. :)

The Chronicles of Spring Break--FINAL DAY!

Well, the end has come. Today is the last day of spring break. Yes, technically, we still have tomorrow and Sunday left, but those are going to be "business as usual" days. I am spending Sat. morning at the library, and then the afternoon packing, then church, etc. Sunday, we serve at Campo from 10am-12:30 and then spending the afternoon doing laundry and getting ready to go back to school Monday. So, today's entry will be the last of the chronicles. It has been a fantastic (and much needed) vacation. Even though we didn't go anywhere, it was still special to spend the time together.

Today, Peter and Jeremiah spent the morning working on his project for the science fair (no photos from that, I'm afraid, but I am sure I will blog about it in the near future). Jeremiah is very excited about it! They've cooked up a neat experiment....I can't wait to see the finished product! While they were doing that, Alayna and I ventured to "Snip Its", a children's hair salon. She was long overdue for a hair cut. She is just such a wiggly worm and always ends up s little lopsided. Still cute though. And then, we spent the afternoon at the zoo. We've been members for almost 5 years and the kids still love it every time we go there. We went with a couple other mommies from my MOPS group and their kids. It was SO crowded--but we still had a ton of fun!

Its been fun to document each day of spring break. I love having this blog as a journal from our family's adventures.

Just a few photos from today:

Before:


After:


With Mr. Kimodo


The real Kimodo


Hangin' out


This is the result of a long day in the sun:

The Chronicles of Spring Break--Day 6

Well, its starting to wind down...sad. I thought I would be anxious to get back into the routine of school (if you know me very well, you know I am all about routine), but I find that I like the carefree "routine" of vacation much better! Today was low key, but not as much as yesterday. We toured a YMCA, since we are considering a family membership. The house that we are moving to does not have a pool in the community (and no private one either) and it will be a LONG summer without one. Thankfully, the new house (again, more about that in a later post) is about a mile from a YMCA. So, we might become members if we can figure out how to work it into the budget. After the tour, we headed to Golfland for a little fun. Jeremiah and Peter did some laser tag while Alayna and I played in the arcade (the boys joined us afterward). We came home and played at our little community park for a little while and then the kids watched some PBS while I made chicken stew. Now, we are just hanging out in front of the house while the stew simmers. We're going to have a little batting practice in the field, so I am going to end it here.

Again, just a few photos from Golfland.

Ready for some laser tag


Ms. Pac Man


Air Hockey


Train ride

The Chronicles of Spring Break--Day 5

Well, today was bittersweet for three reasons: (1) Grandma went back to CA, (2) its the start of Daddy's work week, and (3) it marks the halfway point of spring break, which means its almost over! Today, we went to the library and to IKEA! I have never been to IKEA and we wanted to browse around to look at some stuff we might want to get for the house we are moving into next month (more about that in another post). Sometimes, its SO hard to live on a budget--a lot of things appealed to me; things we can't afford. ::SIGH:: After IKEA, we headed to Kohl's to get the kids some sandals, because its that time of year already! They usually go through at least 2 pairs of sandals (each) every season (summer lasts 6-7 months here). Then it was time for Peter to go to work. I decided to let the kids have some video game time in the afternoon since it was starting to heat up outside. There was a high of 87 today! Summer is definitely on its way (all too soon).

Of course, we wore green in honor of St. Patrick (well, its Jeremiah's favorite color and if it were up to him, all of his clothes would be green). Today was a mellow day compared to the days we've had so far, but, it was a welcomed change. Here are just a few photos.

Looking for a book in a series he LOVES
(Magic Tree House)


Cool dollhouse in the kids area
(not to play with, much to Laynie's dismay)




Reading time




Our IKEA home... :)

The Chronicles of Spring Break--Day 4

Another beautiful spring day in AZ! We started today with a morning hike in the Superstition Mountains. The kids did fairly well for such a long hike (over 3 hours). The sad thing is that this is one of our favorite hiking spots and the state is going to be closing it in 3 months. We're hoping something comes up to save the parks! We are really going to miss hiking there if it closes. Thankful for the opportunity to go today! It was an absolutely gorgeous morning....and we beat the heat because by the time we left (noon), it was 78 degrees! We went home for lunch and then spent the afternoon bowling! So....much.....fun. Our spring break is half over and I cannot believe how fast its going. Grandma goes home tomorrow, so today was our last day of fun with her until the next visit. And what does tomorrow have in store? I guess you will have to check back to see! :) Meanwhile, enjoy the photos from today's happenings (sorry, there are A LOT of photos in this post, and two videos).



















Alayna had THE FUNNIEST method of bowling:


Jeremiah's was pretty interesting too:

The Chronicles of Spring Break--Day 3

Monday
Another great day to mark off the calendar! It was beautiful weather today....perfect for a SPRING TRAINING game! You probably know that many major baseball teams have their pre-season training here in AZ because of the weather, like that which we had today. We decided to see my favorite team, the ANAHEIM Angels (I don't care what they call themselves, they will always be the CA Angels or the Anaheim Angels to me)--and their opponents....the LA Dodgers (which is most of my family members favorite team). Peter and I took Jeremiah and one of his buddies from school, while Alayna and Grandma had an afternoon to themselves. The Angels lost (4-0), but it was great to be at a ballpark with my hubs and son!

Stadium in Tempe


He's eating something--he ate the whole afternoon....made photos difficult.


Us


Mom and son


Still eating....with his buddy


My new favorite player at bat, since my other one (Figgins) was traded:
Jeff Mathis



While we were at the game, Grandma took Alayna shopping and to a place called Jeepers (an indoor play place for kids; kind of ghetto, but she didn't know that!). Here are some photos Grandma took of their day:











Wearing the hat and shoes Grandma bought her:

The Chronicles of Spring Break--Day 2

Sunday
Another great day for spring break! We went to church this morning, where we had a guest worship singer named JJ Heller and her husband. They were fantastic! We got home and had lunch and then Grandma had a baking project for them (St. Patrick's cupcakes). The kids had so much fun! There was also a lot of outside time, as the weather is beautiful this time of year. We are soaking it up because the heat is on its way; it will be in the 90s by April!

We had black bean chili for dinner and now Mommy is off for a girls night! Happy to report: another successful day of spring break!