Sunday Fun

Adam & Michael made the trek to our house so the kiddos could play one more time before they headed back to Montana. Our church doesn't start until 2:00, so they were able to have lunch and visit for awhile. Proof that the kids had fun playing: Michael's flushed face:)
He is a "chicken monkey" boy! {His favorite insult}

Adam wanted me to take a picture of their fun rental car. Michael named it "Herbie." Alexander kept talking about the Pinewood Derby, and Michael kept correcting him, saying, "You mean Pinewood HERBIE!?!"

Pinewood Derby--Year 2

Alexander loves a theme. {Must be genetic!} This year Alexander is playing on the Twins baseball team, so he wanted his car to have the Twins logo on it.Priming and paintingSmoothing out the axles
The cars! We combined with another ward, so there were quite a few participants. Alexander's car is the dark blue one with the Twins logo on it. I thought it was ingenious that he painted the wheels white with red threads to look like baseballs.
He and another scout tied for 2nd place. Xander was fine with taking 3rd. What a great sport. All smiles and genuinely happy for everyone who participated. Way to go, Twins!

If You're Sick of the Dodgers...

Don't read this post:)We got a fantastic surprise this weekend! My bother, Adam, and his son Michael flew into town for the NCAA championships. They had a free day on Friday and wanted to see a Spring Training game. Please twist our arms some more...

Darren got us awesome seats on the front row of the Dodgers/Royals game. My brother and I are the same age for 2 weeks in March. He's 11-1/2 months older than me. My poor Mom. Adam is a doctor up in Montana. He said he'd never seen so many pairs of shorts in his life. It was perfect weather!
An umpire came and gave Courtney a foul ball. She was so excited, and kept saying, "Look what Blue gave me!" {We call the umps "Blue."}

And MANNY was out playing today. Three base hits-- way to go!
The boys looked awesome in their matching shirts. Michael is wicked smart and such a fun little cousin. Much of his relationship with Alexander is based on Nacho Libre. Needless to say, there are a lot of wrestling moves and "Anaconda Squeezes" when they play.

Budding Artist

I had to take Courtney to a Pediatric Allergist the other day. He was a FANTASTIC doctor, and asked Courtney what she wanted to be when she grew up. She told him, "An artist." That's a new one. She's wanted to be a "ballerina mommy" for years.

Today she had a school project too make a rainbow using only the primary colors.
She donned her apron and went to town! It was like magic mixing and making new colors!

I ken spel ril gud.

Do any of you have to pull teeth to get your child to practice their spelling words like I do? Spelling was never a challenge for me {you're talking to the Frontier Elementary Spelling Bee champ 2 years in a row:} but boy, does my boy hate it! A friend told me about this website, http://www.spellingcity.com/. It has changed this daily drudgery into something Alexander looks forward to! Simply enter your spelling words, and the rest is like playing video games. We love it!

Thanks

Thank you, blogging friends, wherever you may be:) I have wondered if all scrapbooking will someday go digital. It looks so much easier, and there are SO many darling kits & templates out there.

My style combines a bit of technology and a bit of the old-fashioned. I do most of my journaling on the computer {the perfectionist in me can't handle my own writing or crooked stamping}, & I guess my Silhouette is a digital cutter, too. I love the kinesthetic feel of paper, texture and embellishments, though--it's theraputic to me.

Spaghetti in Primary

I thought once my kiddos were in school, I'd have all this creative free time. Granted, I do spend close to 2 hours transporting kids to and from school {I pick up and drop off 4 times a day} but a lot of my creative time is spent doing my church calling {Jr./Sr./Nursery chorister}. It is a lot of {crazy} fun, and I love it. Yesterday, I told the kiddos if they sang really well, that a visitor would come. I pulled out Nettie, who loves her some spaghetti! I tied pieces of yellow, white & blue yarn together, and then as the kids sang, I pulled the yarn from behind so it looked like she was eating spaghetti. Whichever color she was eating determined who sang {boys=blue, girls=yellow, everyone=white}.

I'm telling you, the Sr. Primary boys have NEVER sang so fantastic. It gave me goosebumps!

{Nettie was created by the Silhouette:}

Fleur

I was living on the edge a little this Sunday--I wore one of Courtney's headbands to church. When I asked Darren if it looked too juvenile, he paused for a long time. I guess that was my answer. If you see any {wisdom} colored hair, there must be something wrong with your computer screen:)

Opening Day

Today was the start of Little League. The boys have been practicing for a month now, but today was their 1st official game.Dad, making some last minute adjustments to the cleats.
I was perusing the crowd, asking people what kind of camera they had. Mine has seen its day. Any suggestions? Here are the Twins with their coaches & banner.
Alexander was one of the pitchers, and did pretty well for his 1st game.
I didn't get a picture of his most exciting moment, though. At his 2nd time @ bat, he hit a home run! He was elated and did a Manny Ramirez two-hands-up after he crossed home plate. My throat hurts from screaming:)

Yum... Cereal

Alexander's latest book report assignment was in quite a unique form. He had to make a cereal based on a book he'd read. He's pulling quite the face in this pic:) For the ingredients {listed on the side} he had to write characters, on the other side, the plot, and on the back, an activity {he did a word search}. Cute idea, but man was it a challenge. He stayed up until midnight the night before to finish it.

Scout Project...AKA Deadly Weapon

We tried over Spring Break to get some scouting arrow points done with Alexander. One was to build this nifty scooter. Alexander & I scrounged up the parts @ Home Depot, but asked Darren to help with the rest.

As the boys were working on the project, Darren flipped the scooter over just as Alexander was moving toward it. He got a pretty good bump & scrape, just an inch from his eye. Thankfully it wasn't anything worse.

Sorry all you scouters out there--but his Razor is much more fun {and less dangerous} to ride:)

Brothers

Thanks so much for coming, Josh! Your wife and darling kids were so kind & unselfish to share you with us. We were happy to corrupt you by exposing you to Nacho Libre and warm winters:)

Sunday, Crazy Sunday

This Sunday was so nuts.
I made Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream on top for my company.
I went to choir practice.
I left my Son at home, thinking he went to church with my husband {when he was really in the backyard playing}.
I freaked out a little bit.
Said Son was recovered and brought to church by Grandpa.
I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting.
I stepped in at the last minute and played the piano for the choir.
I stepped in at the last minute and played the organ.
I did Jr. Primary Sharing Time {which I found out about on Saturday night}.
I did Jr. Primary Singing Time.
I did Nursery Singing Time.
I did Sr. Primary Sharing Time.
I did Sr. Primary Singing Time.
I got a migraine.
I made a fabulous dinner & topped it off with peanut butter kiss cookies.
I'm out.

Playing Barbies

Courtney is always begging me to play Barbies with her. When Grammy came to visit, she became Courtney's new target. She was beyond thrilled when Grammy agreed to play Barbies with her.It was a darling moment and something Courtney will always remember.

Tour de Cure

Darren {after swearing he'd never ride a bike again after El Tour de Phoenix last year} succumbed to peer pressure and did the Tour de Cure for Diabetes.

Getting on his game face before the race
This time he was actually smiling when he crossed the finish line:) We're so proud of you!

Manny Mania!

We are die hard Red Sox fans, but when they traded Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Lowe & Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, our loyalty was divided. It has been a dream come true for Darren to be a part of building the Dodgers & White Sox Spring Training Facility in Glendale. He gives us daily updates of people he's seen and enjoys watching the players practice.
Tommy Lasorda is a regular out and about on his golf cart. He was out signing autographs, and would only sign things for kids. He said, "Ladies first!" and grabbed a ball from an eager fan with long hair {which happened to be a boy.} When told the "lady" was actually a boy, Tommy handed back the ball and said, "Go and get a haircut!" He signed Alexander's baseball!The Men: Grandpa Roos, Alexander, Darren & Josh @ Camelback Ranch

How do you spell spoiled?!? My kids! Grandpa & Grandma made Xander's day by surprising him with a Manny Ramirez t-shirt. The kid won't take it off.
And spoiled child #2. I guess she's been begging for this wicked ugly monkey for weeks. Grandma to the rescue. Courtney told us, "I just can't stop smiling!"
The big man himself-- Manny Ramirez made his debut at this game. The last time we saw him in person was at Fenway Park in Boston.
Grandma & Courtney cheering for our team. Yea!

Snowbirds

Darren"s Mom, Dad, & Brother Josh came out of the Idaho snow and down to the Arizona sunshine for a visit. The boys are big baseball fans, so they all went to some Spring Training games. The journaling here is Darren's domain...

Fire!

We have this lovely area behind our house called a wash. It is a huge grassy field that families come and enjoy playing ball, flying kites, taking pictures, etc. The last few years the HOA has opted not to overseed it in the wintertime. {Here in AZ you have summer grass and overseed with winter grass} Since they stopped overseeding, the wash turns into this brittle, dead grass that resembles straw. We looked out the back window on Wednesday and saw a fire truck. Then we saw-- a fire! We have no idea how it started, but were thankful the fire department got it under control before it reached our home! We are hoping this will encourage our HOA to start overseeding the wash again! Yikes!

Loving Spring Break

I love sleeping in {until 7:00} when the kids have time off school. Does anyone else remember when getting up at 7:00 am was actually getting up early?!?

I came downstairs and saw Xander Man all wrapped up in his blanket, just chillin' and enjoying the morning. One of those sweet moments that made me smile.
Later that day, he requested I take a picture of this pretzel man to post on the blog. Here you go!

Nooooo!

They said it was extinct.

A few years ago, all the Krispy Kreme donut shops closed up here in Phoenix.

I shed a few tears, shed a few pounds, and moved on.

They're BACK! I saw the sign in a new shopping complex and stopped in my tracks. Of course I had to go in to see if it was merely a figment of my imagination. It was real. And so yummy.

Wave!

Our 1st attempt using a triple barrel curling iron.

It's fun to try something new-- Courtney is a such good sport:)

Hours of Entertainment

Who would have thought a few leftover birthday balloons could be so much fun?

We spent most of the morning playing balloon volleyball...
...and "Don't Let the Balloon Touch the Floor."

{I haven't laughed this hard for a long time}

The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden...

So that's what we'll do! There is a wonderful family in our Stake that offered one of their farm fields to be used by families to plant gardens. They will water the ground and each family is responsible to plant seeds and weed their 20x20 plot once a week.
We felt like industrious little pioneers out there with our fellow Ward and Stake members. It was neat to see the variety of plants and seeds other families were planting. Darren picked out our seeds {cucumbers, beans, peas, carrots & radishes (?)} We're so excited and grateful for this opportunity. I'll keep you posted...

Awww...

Darren forbade me from entering my scrap room the night before my birthday. He was being so mysterious, it piqued my curiosity. The next morning, he surprised me with these. Long stemmed roses with money sewn {yes, sewn} in! How sweet it that?


Courtney and Alexander gave me the new album by Pink {which I LOVE} and a pink LA Dodgers hat. Thanks for the great birthday, family! You're too good to me:)