Phoenix

Several weeks ago I made a much needed trip out to Phoenix to visit Amy. We had been making plans for a girls trip to Seattle but this ended up being a little easier to make happen. While we still want to make that trip sometime in the future this trip was amazing.

The trip got off to a bit of a rough start when my evening flight was cancelled. (A bird took out one of the engines while it was landing in KC). I had two choices. 1. Take a flight out the next day or 2. Fly to Charlotte and then fly to Phoenix.  We had plans the next day so I opted for option 2. Let me tell you...that is a looong flight.

Luckily our plans were fairly relaxed. We kicked off the trip by treating ourselves to manicures and pedicures. I hadn't had my nails done since Amy's wedding two years ago so it was time!

Pampering ourselves.

After this we made our way to Z tejas for food and incredible margaritas.

If there is one thing you should know about me it is that I love margaritas. After margaritas we went outlet shopping. I don't always love shopping but with Amy it is always more fun. I bought several dresses and tops and a new pair of shoes. 

That evening we hung out at Amy's where we went on a short hike at a nearby preserve before having dinner at the house. It was great having a relaxing meal and getting to catch up with Brent as I had not seen him since the wedding.

On Friday morning we woke up crazy early and went for a workout at the gym. Amy has a personal trainer who invited me to join Amy for her session. It was a really tough workout for me as I have not had a workout like that since before Anna was born. I was keeping up pretty well until she threw in some plyometrics. I got a little light headed and had to take a break. I skipped the rest of the plyos for the day but finished the rest of the workout. It was hard but felt really good at the same time. We had planned on going on a longer hike but it had rained (the trails get slippery and snakes come out) so we napped watching a movie instead. Eventually we got ourselves cleaned up and went out for brunch followed by a trip to Amy's work.

Amy works in HR for YAM Worldwide. It manages many of Bob Parsons (founder of GoDaddy) interests including Harley Davidson. Amy works at the location in Scottsdale which is home to the largest Harley Davidson dealerships in the world. It happened to be bike week that week so the place was swarming with people. I enjoyed seeing where Amy works and meeting some of her co-workers.

  I looked for the most expensive bike I could find for a photo op.

The closest I'll ever be to riding a motercycle

After leaving Amy's work we went to a wine festival in Tempe. It was a lovely day to be outside!

I had never really thought of Arizona as being a top wine producer so I was surprised at how many wineries there actually are there. While it's no California wine there were a couple that I really enjoyed. Mostly I was enjoying spending a gorgeous day outside with my best friend. 

We ordered take out and had another relaxed evening with Brent back at the house. I knew I was needing a trip to get away and I honestly couldn't have asked for anything better. Being able to catch up in person without all the kid distractions was incredible. I love my babies but I haven't had a break like this since before children. 

Saturday we spent by the pool. One of Amy's friends invited us over and it was the perfect day. Although I put sunscreen on from the start and reapplied numerous times I still managed to get burnt on my right leg and both feet. 

A little sunburn didn't stop us though and we managed to glam up for a girls night out on the town. Amy invited several of her friends (some that I've met previously) and we had a really fun evening.  We forgot to get a group picture of all of us but I was so appreciative of everyone coming out. After dinner Amy and I stayed out a bit longer to grab a drink at a fun bar not far from where we had dinner. 

Girls night out!

Amy ordered us super fun drinks and we did our best to enjoy my last evening in Arizona.

We were able to talk the bartender into taking a cheesy picture of us :)

Sunday we spent having a very low key day. Lounging around and watching a movie. I did go grocery shopping with Amy so it wasn't a totally lazy day! 

On the way to the airport.

I am so grateful to Amy for taking time off of work to spend with me and for all the planning she put into us having an amazing weekend. I'm a pretty lucky gal.

Anna's 1st Soccer Game

This month we started Anna soccer! I have to admit I've been pretty excited about getting the girls into sports activities.  

Trying on the shinguards!

I had origianally looked into a Me and Mini Me soccer through Olathe but the session that worked with our schedules was already full when I went to sign up. That's when I found Tot Soccer offered through Lenexa. It sounded really cute. A 25 minute practice followed by a 3 vs 3 "game". We were really excited about it but our first day did not go that well.

Anna woke up grumpy (she was at the start of a cold) and basically screamed the entire way there. She refused to participate in the practice and there was a great deal of crying but  didn't want to just leave. While we didn't force her to kick the ball or anything we made her sit with me on the field so she was still part of the team. She had just begun to calm down when they started picking up the cones so they could prepare for the game and she lost it because she didn't want to be done with soccer (You have to love the logic of toddlers). I took her for a walk and she pulled herself together. When we got back to the field there were orange slices for the kids and this turned everything around for her.

Finally happy

After licking her orange slice and laughing a bunch Anna was ready to play! She subbed in and it became very clear that she had no idea what was going on. We'd yell for her to run toward the ball and she would run past the goal for the balls behind the net.

Grandpa, Uncle Scott, Uncle James, and Aunt Michelle all wanted to come for Anna's first game. We gave them fair warning that we didn't know what to expect but they insisted on coming. I thought it was so sweet they wanted to be there.

Anna's team is called the Blue Cobra's. There are a couple kids who have an idea of what is going on but most of the kids are somewhat clueless too. 

Go Blue Cobras!

Another orange slice at half time!

It was nice having another person taking pictures. Thanks Michelle.

Jane was also very grumpy that morning (it was very cold and she refused to wear her hat and gloves) but she did want to cuddle with Grandpa.

After the game we walked over to the playground for a bit.

Took an opportunity to get a selfie.

Jane didn't want to do anything at the park until right before it was time to leave. Go figure. 

Since everyone had made the drive in we decided to grab brunch at a nearby restaurant called Le Peep. This was a big hit and has now become a tradition.

We've had 3 games so far and we think that it is safe to say Anna is not that into soccer right now. She likes the shin guards, the oranges, playing at the playground after the game, and going out to eat at Le Peep. Although she's doing better and actually participating in the practices she just is not that aggressive and doesn't seem to care that much about going after the ball. I really wish we had done the Mini Me soccer instead. I think she would have gotten more out of it but we are still having fun. Overall it has been a positive experience I think and hopefully next year we can try a different class if she seems interested. Until then, 5 more games left....

Science City

Ahhhh, I'm finally into April! We started the month out with a trip to Science City at Union Station in Kansas City. We were able to meet up with my cousin and her family that was visiting. 

We'd never been to Science City before and the girls had a pretty good time. It is definitely geared towards a little older children but there was plenty to keep my two entertained. When they get a little older it is someplace I can see us going to a lot. 

There was a robotic arm that picked up marbles to put it down a maze. The girls enjoyed watching it.

There was an awesome giant water table area where the kids could maneuver pipes to change water flowing into different tubes and stuff. There were a ton of little floating ducks in there so my kids thought it was amazing. There was also an archaeological dig area that we spent a great deal of time at. 

There was so much going on and all my cousins and their kids were spread out so this is the only decent picture I got with anyone else. 

Tiana in the orange shirt to the left, Anna center, and Jacob's back to the right

Even though things were a little nuts it was nice seeing my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.

Jane eyeing Aunt Sandy

My girls also loved looking at all the snakes, scorpions, turtles, etc. 

It was a fun morning but also a bit crazy. We left Union Station kind of late so we grabbed some fast food on the way home. I didn't want Jane falling asleep on the drive home before she'd eaten lunch. 

Anna and Jane didn't mind and had fun together. As I recall it ended up being a rough nap day and resulted in a very early bedtime but it was worth it.

Easter Weekend

I had really been looking forward to this Easter and it was loads of fun. Jane was so excited about everything and it was a blast watching both girls enjoy themselves.

We kicked off the weekend with some egg dying over at my parents house.

Oh so happy!

Anna was very into this and would concentrate so hard when she was coloring on her eggs. 

I just love doing this with the girls. I have so many memories of doing this growing up in this same kitchen.

Grandma, Hailie, and Seth were all into the process as well. Especially Grandma...she had some awesome eggs!

Eggs!

Later that day we celebrated Easter over at Kevin's parents house. The girls enjoyed exploring their Easter baskets.

Although Anna was mostly interested in the candy. She may or may not have eaten a ridiculous amount of chocolate that evening. 

It was a little chilly but nice enough to play outside before the Easter egg hunt. 

Jane was ready to get the egg hunt going.

Jane showed so much much excitement with each egg she found.

It was impossible to get a picture of all three girls smiling and looking at the camera. This picture cracks me up though and was definitely the best.

Checking out what the Easter Bunny brought. 

Buster checking things out.

Jane was mostly interested in her new book.

That afternoon we made our way out to the farm for a family dinner. We had nearly everyone there and we managed to get a picture with all the great grandkids (at least the younger set) before the egg hunt. We used to do this with all the grandkids when we were little.

An attempt at a picture with the girls and their baskets. 

Determination. 

Anna was very sweet and made sure that Jane got all her eggs.

After the hunt was over some of the kids went down to explore by the pond. I caught this sweet picture of Hailie with Anna and had to post it. They sure love each other.

A little later we went over to the community center to take a series of family pictures. That was a little crazy with so many people. Plus, Anna had not napped for two days due to the steroids she'd been taking and was crashing. She ended up crashing about 5 minutes after we left. I haven't seen all of them but here is the big group shot. We're only missing a couple people which I find pretty amazing!

Here we did a remake of picture from when a bunch of the grandkids were younger. In this particular picture Kelly was very upset and they were trying and trying and trying to get her to smile. By the time they succeeded in getting a happy picture of Kelly the rest of us were no longer happy and not even looking at the camera. It made for a hilarious picture though and it was fun trying to make our old faces. We are missing Cheryl and Luke in the photo but I still think it was a hit.

After getting home we had a pretty relaxed evening. We were all pretty worn out and it was nice to just watch a movie together. We attempted a couple of selfies.

Easter 2016

Even though chaotic (as are most holiday's for us these days) it was a fun weekend.

Easter 2016