Mexico!

Last weekend the kids and I went with my parents to Mexico! Thanks mom and dad!
We can't wait to go back. In no particular order, and with apologies for what is sure to be a million pictures... enjoy!

Forgive me!

I could go on and on about how I've been busy and how posting (on either blog, frankly) has had to take a back seat sometimes.

But who has the time.

I've missed two 20th posts.

The first one... Shyla's bday. I can give up 20th posts now and then, but I can NOT ignore my beautiful and spunky niece's 2nd birthday! (Errr... at least not for more than 2 months. And, to be fair, I didn't ignore it in real life. Just in the bloggy world).

So... Shyla May turned 2 in May!

We celebrated for about a week, with a small gathering at Shyla's home (that she generously shares with Kendra and Stevie and baby Harper who is due soon!!!), as well as a friends and family park birthday party.

Shyla, of course, was the star.

Mmm cake.

Shyla is kinda upset here, but I still love this pic of my sister and her first born.

Me, Kendra, and Harper :)


We love you Shyla!

20th!

Happy 20th!
Last weekend, the kids spent the night at my parents' house one evening.
The next morning, I was able to get in a run as I jogged the 5 miles from my house to theirs. Which means they had to drive us all home. Thanks again mom and dad!
My parents clearly really wore the kids out!



Zac's blankie.
My friend Kim makes these. He has about 17. He loves one. The "ball blankie." Kim even made him a new "ball blankie" with the same fabric. Sadly, he knows the difference and only wants the original. Which is falling apart due to 2 years of abuse. Also? I clearly do NOT sew. Or at least not well.
Look at my girl crossing her little legs!
Finally, the kids have rediscovered their Disney ears. Correction - Lilly has rediscovered hers and Zacs hat, and makes Zac wear his.
He hates hats. But he'll wear these, for HER only.
I love that.
She also feeds him, like he's a baby.
I'm undecided on how I feel about that. Cute? yes. Messy? very. Necessary? no.
But... back to "cute"...
Happy happy 20th!

Trip to the fire station

This is Lilly's face when I told her we were going to visit my friend at the Fire Station:

Ok, actually that's a reenactment. But it's pretty much accurate.

I have a friend named Jeff. He is actually a friend of my cousin, Miguel. I met Jeff and his beautiful wife, Christie, and their children when Miguel was in town.
Jeff is a firefighter at the station right down the street. We pass it every day on the way to and from the kids school.

A couple of months ago, I posted something on Facebook about Zac loving fire trucks. Jeff offered to show us around and let the kids explore the station and the trucks.

This weekend, we were finally able to take him up on this offer. We saw their living area, their kitchen (which is being redone, so they grill a lot), their workout room, their tiny bedrooms, and their computer/work offices. But, the highlight of the show was the trucks!

Zac was initially hesitant, and didn't really want to do anything but look. Lilly was not so shy. She enjoyed climbing and sitting in the trucks.


Zac warmed up and really liked opening and closing (read: SLAMMING) the fire engine and ambulance doors.

I mostly enjoyed being the dorky mom who was taking pictures. And possibly jumping in and out of the ambulance. Possibly.

The kids walked away with temporary tattoos, "hand balloons" made from rubber gloves, and (hopefully) a knowledge that there are "good guys" in our community who are there to help us, and who we need to appreciate.

(Yesterday, we appreciated them by bringing Rice Crispy Treats.)
(We also appreciated ourselves by making extras to keep.)
They spent the afternoon playing "fire-girl and fire-boy." Apparently "fire-boy" is a little OCD about his parking lot.
And, an unrelated but SUPER DUPER CUTE picture of hugs. I'm thinking this one is frame-able, yes?

Thanks again, Jeff, for showing us around the station!

The 20th... on time!

The 20th again... and this time, I'm on time with the post!
(You can thank my mom, and her never ending harassment.)

This first photo was taken on the morning of St. Patrick's Day. We clearly had not done hair yet (sheesh, Lilly!), but the kids were very excited that some mischievous leprechauns had visited us overnight. They gave us each kisses, which we knew because they left green hearts on our hands. They also turned our milk green and our pancakes green. It was pretty silly, to say the least.

The weather has been gorgeous, which means lots of outside playtime! This, of course, leads to scrapes and bruises.
My parents are redoing their living room, so my dad thought it would be funny to pretend he was a picture of himself, using this huge frame. Once the kids figured out it was him, they wanted to pretend they were a picture too.
Yesterday, Lilly got to go to her friend, Olivia's, birthday party. I was so proud of her writing (and drawing) on the card she picked out.
Ready to party!
Handsome boy! Kendra was so nice and volunteered to watch Zac while I took Lilly to the party! Thanks sister!
Lilly had a blast at the party, and was very well behaved. Also, she rocked the pinata!
And, today. We have done NOTHING but play outside this morning, up until nap/rest time. We played in the backyard, then took the bike and scooter for a spin around the neighborhood. Then, back to the backyard. They wanted to take another walk, this time without their vehicles.
Oh My God Aren't They Cute Holding Hands!?!


Please know that they held hands for all of 12 seconds. Still, it was super cute, and I caught some on camera. Win!

Busy days

We've been busy around here, but I figured it was time for a post! It's just kind of a random assortment...
First, look at this sunset from tonight. Lilly asked me to take a picture of it, and who can say no to that?

A couple of weeks ago we went to Phoenix and had a great time visiting my friends Kim and Matt and little girl Kaylie, then going to transportation Day and having a fun evening with Natalie and her family and Laura and her family. Whew it was a busy weekend.
While there, we went to Hot Dog On A Stick, and Lilly got this hat!
Speaking of Lilly, she went on her birthday date with Kendra and Stevie the other day. I could copy pictures from her blog and repost them, but I think I'll just send you over there. Click HERE to see that post. She had a blast!

This is a picture of Zac throwing a fit in the grocery store the other day. It didn't last long, but I snapped the picture to show his first girlfriend one day.


Here is a much more flattering picture of my little man.
The kids and I have made a habit of getting bagels for breakfast about twice a month or so. I love bagels, they love bagels, plus it's good practice of restaurant manners. Here's a couple pics from our last breakfast date.



Last night, the kids spent the night at my parents' house. After running early this morning, I drove up to see them finishing their walk. Lilly walked Bruski the whole way! She's getting so big.

It's finally nice enough to take evening walks after dinner! Also, finally we can do so sans stroller! The other day, I snapped this picture.


Then, tonight, I took these closeups since both kids had haircuts today!
Zac looking handsome:

And Lilly with her beautiful bangs.


Happy Spring!