School!

It finally came. The ceremonial 1st day of school picture. I love you two!

All our waiting has finally paid off! After two years of temporary portables, the kids' school is finally finished. It is beautiful and they are beyond thrilled with their new campus. Such a bittersweet day.

Tooth Fairy Going Broke!

Tooth #2 came out tonight! I thought taking most of the color out of this photo would be a cool effect... turns out it makes Courtney look like a ghost. She's a cute little spook, though!

Going Def

My nails are painted Electric Strawberry & Onyx Rush, I've applied an insane amount of black eyeliner, teased my hair more than usual, and donned my bejeweled tee. Halloween time?Heck no! My man & I are off to the Poison & Def Leppard concert!
Poison was AH-mazing! Brought back so many memories.
British invasion! Def Leppard was fun to see live, although the vocals were difficult to hear. The band was incredible.

They couldn't leave without singing "Let's Get Rocked." We had pounding headaches the next day {not sure if it was from the loud music or from all the "medicinal" second hand smoke}

Wannabes

I think we've talked up this Def Leppard concert a bit too much. The kids were crushed when they found out we weren't taking them. So... they invited us to their own show, featuring the "Roos Kidz." For a quarter, it was a smokin' deal!

To be authentic, Alexander did his performance "single handedly." {You'll have to pause the flash player to hear it}

Mud Football-Year Three!

That disgusting tradition we wait for all year long...

The boys had a terrific time! Courtney and I opted not to go this year. Less laundry:)

Birthday

My dear husband had another birthday! Man, this year has flown by. Darren is really amazing... seriously. This brilliant guy can figure anything out AND he can fix anything. {Mcgiver pales in comparison}! He takes good care of our family and I am so thankful for the good example he is to those around him. I love his sense of humor and loyal Idaho roots. He is all no-fuss about birthdays. He and I spent the day volunteering @ the kids' new school.
We had Meet the Teacher tonight. The campus looks amazing and the kids have fabulous teachers. They are so excited to begin school here!

Courtney & her teacher, Ms. Wechter. She loves school!

Lizards and Tigers and Caves, Oh My!

The school year is quickly approaching! We were glad to get one more trip in to the zoo {even though it was WICKED HOT!} At the entrance of the zoo, there's a bridge that spans over a river. Seated there on the bridge was a menacing looking dragon/lizard {that wasn't supposed to be there!} We didn't know if he was from the wild, or if he had escaped. Too freaked out to take a picture:)
The kids fave animals today--a cheetah & a panda.

We spent most of the day at this awesome new water feature they have @ the zoo. It is a splash park themed as a cave.

I warily tiptoed in with the kiddos and it was amazing! A little creepy, but amazing!

It was full of stalactites, stalagmites, slides & waterfalls. Too cool.

After we ate lunch, we ventured out to see some animals. I think we passed maybe four other families. Nobody was out because of the excessive heat warning that was in effect. We gave up when our water ran out. Here we are, in our red-faced loveliness:) Still a super fun day.

Tell Me Who's Watchin'

I HATE those Geico commercials with the stack of money & dorky song... Until tonight! I turned around & this was on the back of the couch. Alexander is too funny!

Stayin' Cool in the Pool

Swimming is the only thing we look forward to during a Phoenix summer. {Ok, and sleeping in, and no homework, and playing all day, and going on vacation--you get the picture.} Ahhh, the water always feels so good! We are still trying to break Courtney from wearing her floaties. Two floatie-free minutes is all we got out of this girl today.
Chlorine stings! Alexander asked if he could get swim goggles for next summer. He is getting so good at swimming {after years of coaxing & lessons}

Summer Continues @ the Roos House

We got the last minute call that the kids' school won't be finished until next week. Oddly enough, we're OK with that. One more week of summer! The kids have really done a lot together. Today they wanted to have a picnic in the backyard, so they packed lunches, set up the beach umbrella, and ate sandwiches on the dirt pile where the swing set used to be. {It had seen too many AZ summers, so the kids & Darren took it down}.

Girls, I Think We Found Our New Calling...

Yes, it's for real. Here in our local paper. Who's up for going to a free class taught by Billi Jo & Bobbi Jo? Love all the exclamation points {did you count how many?}. It adds such a nice touch.

Courtney's Future Husband

Last night we were enjoying family dinner, and Courtney was spraying butter on a piece of bread. She sighed and said, "I want to marry the guy that invented spray butter."

Arizona Science Center

We thought this was to be our last outing before school starts {haha, school just got pushed back another week} so I wanted to have a fun and memorable day with my kiddos. Off to the Science Center! They have Lego Castle Adventure as one of the exhibits this month, and the kids loved it. The Legos are really shiny when you're taking a picture, apparently:)
The King & Queen

Here's his castle--the kids could have stayed there all day long. They even begged for the Science Center to become our permanent residence.

How does your garden grow?

This was amazing! Alexander is lying on over 1,000 nails! They had so many interactive things for the kids to do. They loved it.

We had lunch at this swanky bakery. It was delish & voted as "Best Downtown Lunch" in Phoenix.

Finished up the day with some tasty gelato.

Meet Benjamin

Ok, so here's the latest of my Primary Chorister creations. The idea is that the better the kids sing, the bigger Benjamin blows his bubblegum {someone from behind blowing a balloon}. When my dear husband saw this poster, he said, "Just when I thought your visual aides couldn't get any creepier..." Apparently I've crossed that fine line between creative/creepy.

Pepsi...The True Test

For Darren's birthday next week, we're going to the Def Leppard/Poison concert. In preparation for the big event, Darren's been watching '80's music videos on YouTube. While watching one of Alice Cooper, Courtney saw it and said, "That guy looks very evil." Darren mentioned that he was a nice person, but he'd made some bad choices. Courtney replied, "Yeah, I bet he even drinks PEPSI."

Toothless Jane

Courtney thinks she's had it rough being the youngest in her school class. She was the shortest girl in her Kindergarten class last year, and the only one not to lose a tooth. Earlier this year, she was doing something dangerous & I asked her why. She said, "Because I NEED to knock my teeth out!" After months of wiggling, the night finally came. The looks on their faces:

Darren=Determined, Courtney=Afraid, Alexander=Sympathetic

Alexander was so sweet and told her she could squeeze his finger if it hurt.

One minute later, complete elation! {And Mommy cried}

We Love Daddy, Yes Siree!

We were all so happy to see Darren again! He flew up to Idaho for his Mom's Birthday, then drove us back to AZ. We missed you, Darren! It was wonderful coming home to a clean house {he even shampooed the carpets!} and back to our crazy life! Courtney wanted a schoolhouse tall enough for the Barbies to stand in. Daddy to the rescue!

Reed's Dairy Days

One of the {many} times I was wishing I had my camera:( My Sis-In-Law Cami was kind enough to send these pics she took of my kiddos. Thanks, Cami! Alexander enjoying a horse ride. Dairy Days takes place at Reed's Dairy, where Darren & most of his family members worked at some point in their lives. Yes, my children's father was the milkman.
Courtney loves animals more than anyone I know. She was so happy to be in Idaho with so many pets & animals, but was completely miserable with all her allergies! Bless her heart.

Glacier National Park

Adam & Tyana are very outdoorsy people, so where they live suits them well. We took a day trip to Glacier National Park, and it was gorgeous. These pictures were snapped with a high-tech, green Fuji disposable camera. I know. Sorry.
They had had an avalanche on the mountain, so we had to stop a few times for road repairs. The kids enjoyed a little break & munched on gourmet brownies.
The ice was melting, so we were on the lookout for waterfalls. One in particular {where we got drenched, thanks to my brother rolling down all the windows} is called the "Weeping Wall." It is a breathtaking, terrifying drive up through the park.

Courtney's wish for the day was to see a deer. Here you go!

Just when you think you can't get any higher, there is a walking trail that takes you up further! I was recovering from bronchitis, and the altitude made it so hard to breathe. I kept going, hoping that my brother, the doctor, wouldn't leave me to die if I collapsed:)

Yes, this is my brother. He is in his element. Life is good!

Who would have thought you could have a snowball fight in July? The kids were in HEA-VEN being able to play in the snow. This is only Courtney's 3rd time {that she remembers}.

Adam is the BIGGEST tease, and his daughter Katie takes after him. Katie was dishing it out as much as he was.

Up the hiking trail. Pictures just don't do it justice. {Even with the high quality camera that I had:} Courtney, Katie, Adam, Michael & Alexander

We also saw some rams & big horned sheep on our adventure. On another {camera-less} day in Montana, we went to the Bison Range. The kids saw tons of wildlife there, too.

I loved this picture. It looks like it could be a movie poster for an old Lassie film or something {minus the dog}.

At this moment, I was convinced my kids were going to be swept away in the river. Adam, you daredevil, you! Thankfully, they returned to me safely.