Totally Pampered

I know this post is a month late...but better late than never! I had a totally awesome 27th birthday! My sweet friends and hubby completely spoiled me. It was seriously one of the very best b-days I can ever remember. (Now you know why I'm so sad to leave AZ!) My friends "kidnapped" me a few days before my actual b-day for a party at Kristy's house where she'd made my favorite--mint chocolate ice cream cake. It was heavenly--thanks, Kristy!!! Then we watched "New Moon" which I hadn't seen yet.

Thanks, girls! It was so much fun!

On my actually b-day this is what I found waiting for me in the morning when I came home from running group. Caleb had made me a sign with my 5 most favorite candies--along with breakfast of french toast and bacon and a homemade card. Thanks Honey!

My friends all pitched in and gave me a gift card to get a pedicure which I'd been wanting for a while. Caleb gave me the day off and my friend Britni and I went shopping to the AZ Mills Outlet mall and then ended the day with the pedicure. Thanks for going with me, Britni!

That night Britni watched our kids (thanks, Britni!) while Caleb and I went to a new restaurant in town called "Le Chalet" that specializes in crepes and fondue. It was delicious!

A big thank you to all the friends/family that called me, texted me, emailed me, sent me packages, etc. You made my day so special!

I HATE CHANGE!

I really hate change. My husband can testify to that. It's not a good quality to have and I need to overcome it. I have put off talking about this because I can hardly stand to think about it, let alone write about it on my blog...which makes it more real. It was kind of one of those things that if you don't talk about very often you think maybe it will go away. But it is inevitable and it's going to happen in about 8 more weeks so I have try to face it between now and then. We are moving. At Midwestern the fourth year podiatry students go all around the US to a new city each month to do what they call "clerkships", so starting in June, Caleb will be headed to Detroit. If it were up to me I'd probably choose to stay here even by myself with all three kids because I feel safe here, I have a great group of friends that I know I can rely on should anything happen, and we're so happy here. But, it's really not up to me. We simply can't afford to pay rent here AND have Caleb pay for a hotel room wherever he is living. So, I'm going home to live with my parents in ID at the end of May for the next year. Seriously, just writing that is making me cry. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but I will miss EVERYTHING about AZ--the sunshine and palm trees, the pool at San Lagos, my fun ward, my social life-- (Bunco, Brunch bunch, girl's nights out, sewing projects, doing crafts, walks to the park/library, hiking, shopping, the awesome garage sales, dinner with friends, parties, just hanging out...the list could go on and on...). But most of all I will miss my dear, sweet friends. There are so many of you and I love you all!! Thank you for loving me, accepting me and making the past three years here in AZ some of the most cherished memories of my life. I will never forget this time. I remember crying to my husband when we first moved here almost three years ago that I was so homesick and now I'm crying to leave. I will always have a special place in my heart for Glendale, AZ.

I Can't Keep it a Secret any Longer...

We're having a BABY GIRL!!!


(I'm 20 weeks this Thurs. and due Aug. 12th)

Attempting to catch up...

Wow--I've been so horrible at blogging lately! I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since before Valentine's Day! I take lots of pictures but then I get busy and don't upload them. This is my feeble attempt to catch up...

Valentine's Day was pretty low-key this year. Our kids were sick so we didn't do much. We got take out from Panda Express on Sat. and then Sun. (the actual V-day) we just had a nice dinner at home. Caleb surprised me with chocolates when I came home from ward choir.

It's kind of a tradition that I make Caleb cinnamon rolls (his favorite) on V-day.

Caysja had a little V-day party with her preschool group. She LOVED it and carried the bag you see here around for days afterward.

My crafty friends and I got together and made these fun banners.

I told Caleb that all I wanted for Valentine's was to go to the ballet and see Sleeping Beauty. Well, since he wasn't too thrilled about going with me, we made a girl's night of it. Here I am with my good friends Britni, Kristy, Alissa and Joanna. It was beautiful.

Here are some of the dancers.
(Excuse the random people posing with them--it was the only way I could get a pic.)

Our weather has been perfect! My good friend Kristy and I decided to hike the trails at Thunderbird Conservation Park one day.

Our girls did great and made it all the way to the top! (The way down though was torture as Caysja was hot, tired, etc. and wouldn't stop whining about it...)

Group shot at the top

Crew loves to sit on Caleb's motorcycle

Caleb took Caysja on a little motorcycle ride all by herself. She had a blast!

My very crafty friends helped me with some fun sewing projects...

spring dress

twirly skirt

"scripture" bag for my little Sunbeam

Crew got his second hair cut--this time by daddy

We've been trying to take advantage of the "culture passes" available at the library since we thought the program was ending April 1. Apparently now the program has been extended for another year--yeah!

Here we are the Taliesin West--Frank Lloyd Wright's school of Architecture in Scottsdale. It was pretty interesting, but not so fun for kids.

Whew! I think I'm pretty caught up now!

Fun randomness

What have we been up to lately? This past week my kids had fevers so we didn't do much but here are some pics from a couple weeks ago that I forgot to post.

Crew LOVES balls of all colors, sizes, textures, etc. In fact it was even his first word and he probably says it 20 times a day! He's in heaven if anyone will throw him a ball. He'll also entertain himself by throwing it and then going and getting it just like a little dog.

LOVE those big blue eyes :)

Talkin' to "kitty Grandma"

Crew learned how to give kisses--very open mouthed and slobbery, but still sweet none the less

kisses for Sissy

The other day I was doing my hair and Crew got into my drawer with all my curling irons and thought he'd try them out too. It was too funny!

Oooooh!

We went to an 80's surprise B-day party for our friend Amanda a couple weeks ago. It was so fun and we got to dress up. Don't you love the photo booth? All the decor was awesome as you can see. Way to go, Joanna! Caleb said he loved my hair that way-- side ponytail and all!

"we're so glad when Daddy comes home..." (the best part of the day)

Arizona Museum of Natural History

A couple weeks ago, Caleb got an unexpected day off his rotation. We were so excited to get to spend some time with him so I ran over to the library to get a culture pass. Unfortunately the zoo was already taken so we went with the Museum of Natural History instead. We'd never been there before and it was a lot bigger than I'd expected. Caysja was actually pretty excited to see the dinosaurs. (I wasn't even sure she knew what dinosaurs were!)

This pic turned out kind of blurry, but it's one of the first things you see when you walk in the museum and it's HUGE!

It wasn't all dinosaurs either. They had these beautiful murals that looked so real!

fishy kissies

There was a "flash flood" that would go off every 20 min. or so and fall down three stories! Caysja loved watching the water.

A real crocodile--I think his name was "Elvis"

You can see the gorgeous desert photography in the background.

We thought we were almost done seeing everything there was to see - and then we discovered that there was this whole outdoor part where you could "pan for gold".

This was Crew at the end of the trip...

It was pretty fun and totally worth it--especially since it was free!

Arizona Winters

You gotta love Arizona winters--need I say more?!!

Arizona Science Museum

Since we didn't get to see my parents for Christmas, they were so nice to come visit us for New Year's. We had a wonderful time together. We went to the Mesa Temple, Organ Stop Pizza, saw The Blindside (awesome!), and to the Arizona Science Museum. Here are some pics from the museum.

Caysja, Crew and my mom having fun with the magnetic toys

My dad playing a tune on the wind pipes

Caleb on a bed of nails

Kiki and Caleb demonstrating how the pulley system works

Building a tower

Eating lunch in the cafeteria

My dad and Caleb went four-wheeling on some trails

My dad loves Crew! He never had a boy so he calls him his "little man"

Playin' the piano with Grandpa

Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa! We miss you!