Blizzard Day

The Phoenix Zoo had a "Blizzard Day" as part of a "Winter in July" thing. It started at 7am probably so that all of the "snow" wouldn't melt as fast. We pulled in right at 7am thinking that it wouldn't be as crowded but it was pretty crazy busy already! But the kids still had a blast! The giraffes were actually pretty close to the fence that day (usually they are really far back in their area and it's hard to see them) so we decided to stop their first. They were really excited about that. Then we headed over to where they had dumped piles of snow across the lawn.

Kimbri loved the "snow" and jumped on in and started playing in it with her flip flops and no gloves. But she didn't mind it being cold to her hands and feet one bit. Garrett, on the other hand, was a little bit skeptical and preferred to eat an applesauce in the stroller while Kimbri played. He eventually wandered in the snow, but only for like 30 seconds and then he came running back to the stroller. Haha! He did, however, LOVE that they had a fire truck there and you got to walk through it and sit on the fire truck seats. He was SO excited. It was really fun to see him so happy about it. He got some fire trucks for Christmas that he loves playing with and so I think it was extra cool for him to see a "real live fire truck"! :)

After spending a while doing the activities they had for "Blizzard Day" we wandered around some other parts of the zoo, which was not very busy at all because everyone that came was there for the Blizzard Day events at the front part of the zoo. Which was great for us! Because we didn't have to battle crowds. And we of course had to hit up the kids' favorite part of the farm area of the zoo to pet the goats! It was a fun morning! And even though it was a supposed "Winter in July"... don't be fooled. It was SO hot! And being 35 weeks pregnant, let's just say I was definitely ready to go home to an air conditioned house by the end of the two hours that we were there. 

Kimbri's mini snowman. You have to look
closely to see it right next to her feet.

Extended Hours at CMP

Every third Friday evening the Children's Museum of Phoenix has what is called "Extended Play Hours" for those who have an annual pass. We love to take advantage of those nights because Rick usually can come with us since it's in the evening and because there usually aren't very many people there. Here are a few pics from the extended play hours from when we went in July and as you can tell, it was pretty empty! 

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July this year! We decided to do a little get together at our house with some friends and family. I wish I would've taken pictures of everyone that came for the memory but I guess we were just having too much fun for pictures :) 

Rick invited some of his medical school buddies over along with their families. So we had Brian & Apryl with their boy, Garren & Calee with their three kids, and my cousin Jeralyn, who brought really yummy cookies with her! 

We had got 6 Papa Murphy's pizzas hoping that it would be enough for that many people... well, it was WAY too much! Haha. Probably because we had so much other food as well. We had white chocolate dipped strawberries with blue sprinkles (trying to be festive, ha), watermelon, grapes, a veggie tray that the Giles' brought, drinks, salad, and dessert. There was so. much. food. And it all was so yummy. After everyone was done eating the kids all wanted to go outside and play. I don't know how kids handle the heat but they all ran around playing for quite a while and then came in for dessert. 

When it finally got dark we did a few sparklers. I did snap a few quick and very blurry pics of that. And also of the next day which was Sunday so we dressed the kids in red, white, and blue to try and have some American pride! It was a fun weekend! 

My 26th Birthday

My birthday was a couple weeks ago and I have finally joined the 26 year old club with Rick. He turned 26 in March :) It was the day after we got back from our Utah trip so I think we were all still a little bit exhausted from the 3 and a half week trip. But Rick still made it a really fun day for me!

I got to sleep in, which is always nice! We had a relaxing morning just kind of hanging out and then we headed out on the town in the crazy hot heat to cool off at Bahama Bucks and got my free birthday shave ice! We also ended up getting a strawberry banana smoothie too, my favorite. And the kids sure enjoyed every second of it too!

We also went and picked up free lunch at Joe's BBQ and Joe's Farm Grill. Each of those places gives you a free $10 on your birthday and pretty much everything on their menu is under ten so you get two free meals! The pesto chicken sandwich is to die for. It is AMAZING!!!! I love it and I already talk about how I will miss that place when we move, even though we won't be moving for two more years, ha ha! 

So I ate the pesto sandwich and Rick ate the food I got from the BBQ. We also had to swing by The Sweet Tooth Fairy because they give you a free cupcake on your birthday! I got a chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake. And we all had a bite :) Yum. 

After all of that, we went back home and it was time for the kids to have a nap. They went down for their naps and I took a nap too. I love naps. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant but I just have loved taking naps lately! 

When the kids woke up we headed back out to get some more free birthday food at Firehouse Subs. I got a roast beef bbq sandwich. It was delicious but it was still so hot, like 112 degrees, that eating a hot sandwich wasn't the greatest thing. But it definitely tasted really yummy still! We also decided to swing by Walmart and Hobby Lobby to pick up some things I had been wanting to get for some projects for the nursery. And while at Walmart I found a couple dresses that I got for my birthday that were on clearance for $9... a pretty good price for a dress! They are super comfy and will get me through the last couple months of this pregnancy! 

We were so full from all the free food we had eaten that day that I didn't really feel like eating cake or ice cream so we decided to do that part of the birthday another day. It was a fun, relaxing, enjoyable day with my amazing little family and I guess it's great to be 26 now. I'm excited for what this year has in store for us! And especially excited for our little baby girl to make her way into our family!

So here is a picture that was taken on my 26th birthday, since I was exactly 30 weeks... in all my pregnant glory, feeling large and in charge. Ha ha.

Test Day

This was quite a while ago but I don't think I ever posted about it. Rick was leaving earlier than usual because he had to get to school and take a test. So the kids had just woke up and were about to eat breakfast when Rick was saying goodbye to all of us. All the sudden Kimbri hopped down from the breakfast table and wanted a picture with Daddy before he left, so of course Garrett hopped right down too and joined :)

They love Daddy! And whenever he leaves to go study they both run to the door and say, "Wait! We forgot something!" And they run to him and give him goodbye hugs and kisses. It is the sweetest. Rick is such a great dad to the and they love him so much!

Garrett is Growing

I can't believe how fast Garrett is growing up! He is such a sweet little boy and seriously melts my heart with his brown eyes and handsome little grin. I'm so happy to have this adorable little boy in my life! 

Garrett will be 2.5 next week so I wanted to write down some things that he does or has accomplished lately:

- Potty training. Yes, he is potty trained! And it was the easiest thing ever! He was the one who initiated the whole thing. For a while he had been telling me that he went pee or poo in his diaper right after the fact and wanted his diaper changed asap. So I wondered if he was getting close to potty training since he was obviously recognizing when he went. And I guess that was a pretty good indicator because not long after is when he decided one day to sit on the toilet and he went! It has been SO nice to have him potty trained! I still put a diaper on him when he sleeps but other than that he is trained! Yay!!!

- He also can count to 12. We have several books that involve numbers and counting so each time we read those, he gets a good practice in with counting. After getting to number 12, though, he says "ooo teen, ooo teen, ooo teen" over and over again. Haha. One of these days we'll have to work on that...

- Garrett can sing his ABC's! He can't identify very many letters but he can sure belt out the song!

- Garrett is so sweet when it comes to helping me. For example, whenever I'm in the laundry room, changing a load, he will run in there and say, "Can I help you?". Or like today, I was wiping down the pantry door and he came and helped me. He is always so sweet to offer his help :) I hope that continues into his teenage years! Ha ha!

- Some things that he loves lately are banana berry smoothies, anything to do with the water/pool, sharks and trucks, reading books, wearing his blanket on his head and pretending to be a pirate, and going to the children's museum, just to name a few.

- He is about 36 inches tall and weighs 31 pounds. 

I love you Garrett!

He was SOOO tired in this picture but wanted to finish
every last drop of his smoothie before bed! 

Helping me make Tuxedo Brownies and eating the Cool Whip.

Shoving the chocolate cake in his mouth at the YW fundraiser dinner.

Garrett loves helping me in the kitchen!

As you can see, he loves anything to do with FOOD! Haha! Another funny thing is that he loves to wear mine and Rick's shoes around the house. I left some of my church shoes out once and got to them and thought it was hilarious that he was wearing mommy's high heels. Bahaha!