April

Weston had a preschool field trip to the zoo! These ducks (??) came to greet us before we went in. :)

It was quite a big group of kids and parents so really we just did our own thing most of the day.

By the time we got back in the car 3 hours later, I was bushed. It was hot and I felt like I had just survived a day at Sea World or something. I'm pretty sure I phoned in the rest of that day.

I guess Mesa High is known for their plays, so my mom was pretty vocal about us needing to see their latest, Peter Pan. The only night we could squeeze it in was a Thursday, so I got a sitter since Trav had softball and I took Collin on a date. First, we had to go to his new school's orientation night then we grabbed dinner at Red Robin. 

We waited an hour in line, but it paid off with great seats on the 5th row! Collin loved it and I have to say, I was pretty entertained too. Those kids are talented! And they had it set up so that Peter Pan and some of the characters could "fly" across the stage on ropes. It wasn't an easy night to arrange, but Collin is always begging me for more alone time so I'm glad I did it. We had some needed conversations. I love this rascal. 

Some reps in the area have been hounding Travis to come to these weekend conferences where they try to sell him a machine for his office. When I realized that they were going to put us up in the Scottsdale Fairmont Princess for the weekend I told him to sign us up! ;) I've been to this resort once before and it really is to die for. We invited Shelley to come swim with us there on Friday but the weather was a bit chilly. I was so nervous Saturday would be the same way, but it was blue skies and sunny! Yayyy! I felt really bad that Travis was in meetings all day, but Marcie came out with Scarlett and Rusty and enjoyed the paradise with us! It was a "pinch me" sort of day. The kids were good. It wasn't crowded at all. I got to kick back with a People magazine and pina colada. The sun was warm and my fish tacos were da bomb. I taught Olive to pee in the pool so we weren't making 50 trips to the bathroom (don't stress... she pees trickles.) The only downside was she would yell from the steps, "Mom!! I pee in the pool??!" (She thought she needed to ask permission each time.) Once I shushed her up it was smooth sailing, haha. 

It really was perfect and I felt a little guilty for enjoying such a posh life.. even if it was just for a day. This is the epitome of heaven to me.

Trevor and Gretchen were super nice and came out to watch the kids for us so we could go to the dinner that night. I got all gussied up with my red heels and lipstick and we didn't even take a picture! I decided to just go home that night so we could sleep in our own beds since Travis just had another day of meetings and we wouldn't be taking advantage of the pool on a Sunday. I wish there were more dental machines that needed selling. I wouldn't mind repeating this weekend. ;)

After a long morning of running errands and driving all over Timbuktu, Olive and I had an impromptu lunch at Cafe Rio. With Deseret Book in the background and Mormons all over the place I felt like we were in Utah. But then, I guess Gilbert basically is. 

It was kind of fun having ourselves a little girl lunch date. 

Anjane and I got away one night for a second hit of YoWaffle. (Have you been?! Ah-mazzing. Just make sure and get your waffle fresh!)

After it closed, we retreated to my car to continue our convo and I stupidly turned the car halfway on just to put the windows down, then didn't turn it off. Biggest idiot award right here. After an hour or so I noticed my battery light on my dash. Nooooooooo. It was after 11pm and Trav was asleep in bed. After brainstorming for a minute, Anjane remembered she did have jumper cables in her trunk. So Lincoln Facetimed us to walk us through the procedure. We were a little nervous!! Especially when one of the cables sparked. Yikes! But we did it!!! *Happy dance all around!!* I felt like such a Renaissance Woman, bahahaha. The things your father teaches you to do that you don't pay attention to, then need it 15 years later. Booya.

My Father in law had a birthday so we got some balloons and donuts and surprised him that morning! Party City was super happy to have us on their doorstep when they unlocked their doors that day. ;) Wayne is such a good Grandpa. We love him a lot!! 

Marcie brought Scarlett and Lane to one of Collin's baseball games and she just happened to pick the windiest day of the year! Ahhh! It was cold and basically miserable. We rewarded ourselves with Mugsy Dogs for dinner!

I forget their names but we tried one with coleslaw, one with mac 'n cheese and one deep fried with bacon. Oh and a waffle dog dipped in syrup. Uh huh. It was gooood. They don't skimp on their fry sauce either. But don't go with too big a group... that place is tiny!

I have this friend in my ward. Her name is Camilla. And she has the energy and happiness of 10 people! I love her for it! She organized a group of us girls to go party one night. We started with dinner at the Chop Shop in Scottsdale (yum), then walked over to Escape the Room. If you haven't heard of these, it's a game where you get locked in a room for one hour and have to find clues and solve puzzles to get yourselves out. We were in the archaeological room (sounds like a snooze, but think Indian Jones) and it was super fun! We were told that they have a 20% success rate... so one in five groups actually escapes in time. And we did it!! We thought we were pretty hot stuff, haha.

Afterward, Camilla suggested we get some gelato at a popular place up the street. (She knew downtown Scottsdale like the back of her hand.) Apparently, it is referred to as the G spot. Oh my!

 It was delish and our conversation for the next two hours was just as good. This was my first gno in our new place and it felt really great to finally get to know some of these girls better. In fact, after talking to one of the girls, we realized we had kissed the same guy way back when. Ha! We had a good laugh over that one. Gotta love Mesa!

Guess who got a new church calling?!! Yup. Back in Cubscouts as the Bear leader. And since my banana uniform is ultra sexy, Olive and I are doing our pouty lips. 

The boys went on the Father's and Sons camp out! Olive was none too happy to be left out when she woke up from her nap and realized she'd been ditched. I tried to not be offended. ;) 

They had a great time and camped on private property by Christopher Creek. Travis said when they pulled up the boys literally yelped for joy and fist pumped the air. There was a zip line and bounce house and hot dog stand!! In fact, the hot dog stand had hot dogs and shrimp dogs. What?! The sweetest story to come from the outing goes to Collin. Travis said that around 9pm the boys started saying they were tired and ready for bed. Then Collin said, "Dad, since it's too dark to read our scriptures, can I tell a scripture story and then bear my testimony?" Um, excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. My heart melted when Travis told me!! This was a needed #parentwin after some rough experiences with him. So I guess that's exactly what they did. He told the parable of the 10 lepers and bore his testimony. Then asked Travis if he would tell a parable. :) They had red velvet pancakes in the morning with buttermilk syrup, fresh hash browns and eggs. I'm thinking the Allen Ranch ward has this camping thing figured out. 

While the boys were away, us girls had dinner with my family at Gecko Grill. Had to soak up as much Christopher, Jael and Lucy time as possible!! Then we went back to my parent's house to play card games. I cannot get enough of this girl!! Her chubbers just beg to be munched on!! 

The next morning, I went over to watch her while they went to the temple. We started off with a jog around the neighborhood. 

Her smile is MY FAVORITE!!!!! Can't get enough!!! She is the most easy going, chill baby. I wished I could have watched her the entire day!

The boys got home that afternoon and we got to have Everett over for a few hours while Tania was in the temple. Then it was back to Grandma's house for their ward's Spring Fling! I guess when Grandpa is the bishop we don't feel too bad leeching on. ;) The horse rides and petting zoo were wins. I just felt genuinely bad for those chicks and ducks!! Oi! It would be a miracle if they lived through the night after so much squeezing and manhandling. Their sacrifice made some kids verrry happy though!

 Notice the look on Grandpa's face and where that stream of milk is being directed. Haha. Trav got a surprise shower.

I substituted as Collin's primary teacher one Sunday and for singing time they had Minute to Win it games. Only 8 kids total were picked to play and it just so happened that Weston and Collin were picked for the same game! They had to make a paper clip chain. And Weston won!! Hahaha, ohhh Collin came back and buried his head in my side crying. Doesn't feel very good to be beat by your little brother in front of everyone. Poor guy.

Now it was Grandma and Grandpa's turn to come see Collin play! They watched him get a home run and strike out. Such is baseball. It was another windy one too! Season is almost over!

Weston's cries for a pet puppy have not ceased. In fact, I think they are getting louder. I finally broke down and told him I'd look into some animal shelters and see if we could volunteer to walk the dogs or something. Well that was a bust. You have to be a certain age and commit to extra responsibilities and a minimum amount of time each month. No thank you! So then I thought to ask our friends in our ward if they wouldn't mind us taking their dog on walks occasionally. They were super nice about it and more than OK to let us do that! Score!! Here's to hoping this appeases the dog lover in Weston awhile longer!! Pippy is a Pomeranian and actually really cute... says this non-dog lover. She wasn't super easy to walk because she just wanted to go home, but hopefully she gets used to us soon. How about that dress?! Oh Weston, you have no idea how much you're changing your mother.