Finishing our spring break

Here are some photos of the second week of fall break. Alex got himself a bike for $15 in a yard sale. He was very excited to get it even though it wasn't blue. We went to Tucson while Dan was out of town (again). We went to see Rango, but I wasn't impressed. We went to Peter Piper one afternoon after shopping. Macey is potty training. So if you stop by our house or actually, anywhere that you might be with Macey, don't be surprised if she drops her pants. She goes around in just a diaper a lot. She does very well for being so little. I'm hoping this isn't a phase but the real deal! Alex and Dan went with the Barons to the Suns Scout Night. They were gone for hours and had a good time. Alex got to shoot free throws on the court at the end of the game. Maybe he'll get to do it and get paid for it one day!

PHX Children's Museum

We went to the Children's Museum with the Inmans. It was controlled chaos. A full day of playing and fun with very little parent involvement and without any crying! Ryan liked the craft room. Alex liked the ball maze room. Macey liked the mini fridge in the pizzaria. We had a lot of fun. If you haven't been here ever or in a while, go! It was worth the money spent.

Following fish

Zoo with the Wrights

Oh blessed day, we have the Wrights to go to the zoo with. The boys can run and be loud. Really we could have gone anywhere and had fun, but the kids did look at some animals.
Here are my animals ready to go.
Macey loved feeding the birds. Any animal she fed she would only give one pellet at a time. It did cause some trouble with the deer in the petting zoo.
Macey enjoyed the animals, whereas the boys enjoyed running wild. It was a delicate balance of watching the boys and letting sister enjoy her trip.
Ryan took this picture of the turtles. I gave the boys an allowance to spend however they wanted. Ryan spent a little here and there enjoying all parts of the zoo, while Alex saved nearly all his for one big thing at the end. Ah well, as long as they come home satisfied.
Feeding the fish and turtles.
Macey wasn't loving her wagon the whole trip.
Llama, llama. This little creature was very soft and cuddly.
This is the following fish. Watch the video.
Ryan is going to go on a mission ('Of course, Mom.' he told me) and when he gets home he'll be a deep sea diver. He loved feeding the rays.
Thank you Wrights for going with us to the zoo. It was a wonderful day!

Ward Campout

Our ward council decided to have our camp out close this year. We went to the White Tank Mountains. We were in the desert! Within 5 minutes of getting there, Ryan stepped on an infant jumping cactus and squashed it to the bottom of his two shoes. Luckily none got on him, but I spent a good amount of time (long enough for Dan to put up a tent) taking all the spines out of his shoes.
Alex is a Cub Scout, so before going we looked in the manual for things we could pass off. We packed a hiking backpack that was very much needed such as our leatherman tool and first aid kit. I'm not sure that our Ward will be heading back to the desert with all the cactus injuries, but it was a beautiful place to be.
We enjoyed a delicious BBQ pork dinner with the priesthood entertaining us afterwards. I was nervous that Macey wouldn't sleep well, but it was for nothing. Everyone slept well and we got up to another beautiful day with a yummy breakfast. We along with the Williams hiked the Waterfall hike, which isn't a waterfall that you are accustomed to, but there was a trickle of water to be seen.
Macey really enjoyed the hike. She counted and talked the whole way down. As we left the park we visited the new library at the entrance. It is a nice library with a nature center at the front.

Baptism

Our Alex was baptized March 5th, 2011. We had a shared baptism time with another family. For our part of the program Alyssa and Lindsey sang accompanied by Emily. Emily gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Dan baptized and confirmed Alex.
We are very proud of Alex. He was very confident in his decision to be baptized. The Bishop said his interview went very well. We know that Alex has a testimony of his Savior, even if it is a young and growing one.
Thank you to all of Alex's friends who came to celebrate our special day. We especially want to thank our 'Dear Friend' for being a witness for the baptism ordinance.

Tres Rios

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Saturday March 5th we went to the Tres Rios festival. We saw a lot of reptiles and birds. The boys went in a canoe. The kids made kites and walking sticks. It was a very windy day, but otherwise very beautiful.

Sand Play

Sometimes we are lucky enough to have a play date with the Wrights (and yes, I've seen Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I know it should be called 'hanging out') These boys played and dug and had a fantastic time getting dirty together. I know some moms worry about getting muddy and dirty. Not me. They won't be able to, nor want to dig in the dirt forever. Let them get filthy; they wash.
As a side note of parenting, I went shopping with my 3 children the other day. It was chaos. But I know we brought a few smiles to the other patrons. It seems that a child's true character comes out at the grocery store, so I got to fully enjoy them each at their prime. Oh, well, one day I'll be an empty nester and shopping will be too easy. I'd like to see someone else shopping with a 'Ryan' to bring me a smile.

Alex's 8th bday

Alex had his birthday party last Saturday. It was a basketball theme; he chose the Suns colors for decorating.
Thank you Amie for teaching me the 'star technique'. I think these turned out very nice.

Kids jumping on the tramp'.
Alex won the slam dunk contest and a game of PIG.

Dinner of hot dogs and chips.
'Happy Birthday to you, cha cha cha' The cha cha cha must be at all schools now, seeing as how Trey from Peoria and the kids from Alex's school all knew to do it. Alex was given many great gifts. Thank you friends! However, there was a general shout and cheer for the CHESS set Alex got. No lie, these boys chose to play chess instead of the Wii at the end of the party. Ah, I am so glad that my son is a geek and has geeky friends to be with.

If you are curious, Billy won with a king and queen and Alex having only a king left.