Sunday, July 29, 2012

Lunches with Teachers

We drove up to PHX to have lunch with DD#2 teacher at the Wildflower Bread Co. http://www.wildflowerbread.com/. After we ate, we went next door to Changing Hands   http://www.changinghands.com/ to read books.  Yes, DD#2 has a bindis on her forhead.  It was in a goody bag that her teacher gave her.  I believe she read her 10 or more books.  DD#1 could have been there all day as long as her teacher was there reading to her. 


The next day we had lunch with DD#1 teacher at Rumbi Island Grill.  http://www.rumbi.com/index.php. After lunch we went shopping through the local shops.  DD#1 had fun doing her favorite thing....shopping. 

Friends from Phoenix

Our friends came down from Phoenix for a visit. They came Sunday night for dinner at our house. They were suppose to swim, but it rained so they kids played Wii instead.
Monday morning, the girls and I headed over to their hotel for a swim, then to Monkey Burger  http://monkeyburgerrestaurant.com/yellowbutton.html for lunch. They have some of the largest burgers around.
After lunch we headed out to Karchner Caverns for our tour at 2 pm. http://azstateparks.com/parks/kaca/index.html. Our tour was delayed due to a thunder and lightening storm.  The tour guide uses a metal tram to take the guests up to the entrance of the cavern.  Once the storm had passed we were able to start our tour.  The guide explained the rules...the only rule that stuck out in my head was, "Don't touch anything, but the railing."  The reasoning behind it is if our hands touched the walls, it would cause bacteria to grow.  So, if the walls or anything was touched they would red tape it and someone would come in later to clean it later.  Between my girls and the my friend's kids, the adults had a wager whose kids would touch something first.  Lets just say my girls didn't touch a thing and I won. 

It was a great weekend with friends!!!














Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Move

I need to back up a little bit and explain how we have a pool now.

Last August, my husband took a job down in Tucson.  He moved down there a week before school started for the girls.  I didn't think I would be able to move all the house and get the kids in school in one week, so I stayed in Phoenix.  We talked about moving at their Christmas break, but I felt it would be too hard to have everything packed and that it would too disruptive on the girls to move schools.

He lived in our 5th wheel for almost 6 months, which cut down on the cost of actually renting something bigger.  He would come to PHX on the weekends or on occasion we would come down to Tucson.

He was putting everything he had into his new job, working 50-60 hours a week. Since we didn't have a family to come home to every night he could work those hours.

I was working a part-time job that turned into a full-time job. The girls were going to two different schools and I was trying to pack the house up for the move we were going to make in May. I was asking around if anyone was interested or knew of anyone interested in renting our house in PHX.  I was stressing that we would be paying on our house in PHX and in Tucson.  

We came to the conclusion we would be renting a house in Tucson, instead of buying.  I would find houses and send him on wild goose chase to look at houses on his lunches and after work.  We wanted something that we could put our 5th wheel, a pool, garage, 3 bedroom and within a very small budget. Well, in February we found it.  We signed a lease and he started taking boxes down on the weekends. 

In May, we rented a moving truck and got the rest of our items out of the house.  It was just in time for school to get out and us to go on our vacation to San Diego.  So when the girls and I went to SD, I had boxes waiting for me to unpack when I returned.

As, for our PHX house it did get rented which worked out perfect.


So, we are starting a new chapter of our lives. New areas to explore, new friends, new schools, and new experiences.

Friend in the Pool

The other day the girls came in the house screaming and crying (DD#1) from the pool. I tried to get them to calm down enough to explain what was wrong. Finally, it came out, there was a frog in the pool. I started laughing. I said, "You are screaming and crying because there is a frog in the pool?" DD#1 said "It could be poisonous." She tends to be my scardy cat. So what did I do first, grabbed my camera to document the event, then I scooped it out. Then the girls decided it would be fun to play with out once it was out of the pool.
 

Chalk Monsters

DD #2 6th Birthday

I cannot believe my baby is 6 years old!!  Since she has a summer birthday, we invited our closest friends and family.  For those who don't know she LOVES horses!!  So, she wanted a cowgirl themed cupcakes and grandma was there to deliver.  Grandma spent 8 hours rolling out Tootsie Rolls to make each and every cowgirl hat.  They turned out amazing!!

We had the party at Amazing Jakes http://www.amazingjakes.com/. I wasn't sure of the "pre-made" party because I like to be crafty and put my twist onthe party.  But I will say it was perfect.  I didn't have to do anything, but pay. The kidss and adults had a great time.  The grandparents rode the go-karts, my girlfriends played Dance Revolution, DD#2 played laser tag for the first time and of the kids even won 1000 tickets. 

It was a great birthday.  We shall see what we do next year....












Stone Brewery, Escondido, CA

Stone Brewery http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/ is one of our favorite places to stop in and fill up our growler, when we are in California. This time we invited my uncle, who only lives 15 minutes away from the brewery and has never been. The girls we with us and they had a great time, because the grounds at Stone are kid friendly.  They have boulders and waterfalls and paths for the children to explore.  The also have areas for parents to either sit in chairs or bring a blanket and relax with the kids run around, instead to being seated in the actually restaurant. 

Of course beer was to be tasted, but for me the food was the better choice. We all shared wild boar ribs, macaroni and cheese and a salad. All was very delicious!!

Until next time Cheers!!