Cinnamon Rolls

Today, I spent most of the day in the kitchen. I have been craving a good cinnamon roll and haven't been able to find one, so I decided to make some from scratch! My mom has a good sweet roll dough...they are pretty easy to make, they just take time for the dough to rise a couple of times. I froze a couple of batches, saved one for us, and gave some to the neighbors. I also made some fruit dip, green chile enchilada casserole with Spanish rice and beans, and a buster bar dessert...no wonder I keep gaining weight!!!

Wood Workshop

On Saturday, we had to stop by Lowe's to get some paint, and they were having a kids' workshop. We decided to let the kids participate and they had a blast! The project for the day was a wood biplane. A.J. actually helped build his, but Isaac just ended up pounding on the floor with the hammer (it kept him occupied). Now the boys keep asking if they can go back to Lowe's!

Swim Lessons

The boys have been taking swimming lessons for the past couple of weeks. We have had really good luck in finding private instructors to teach them how to swim. A.J. is pretty good, so we just had him take a refresher course. For Isaac, these were his first lessons. After a couple of days of crying, he warmed up to the instructors and now loves the water! On the last day of class, the kids got to jump in fully clothed to simulate what it would be like if they fell in the water. Needless to say, I have a couple of little fish on my hands!

Isaac taking the plunge in his clothes

Doing the "monkey walk" to the pool steps

Swimming with big kicks

Finally making it out of the pool

There's my happy boy!

A.J. getting the toss in his clothes

Swimming in his clothes

Doing the "monkey walk"

Another happy swimmer

Old Friends

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of driving down to Tucson and meeting up with an old friend. Nicole and I worked at the American Red Cross together, and she was in town for business. We had a great time eating and catching up with each other, as well as reminiscing about old times!!!

Preschool Graduation

Today, my oldest graduated from preschool. His teacher, who is Italian, cooked up a big homemade Italian feast, including homemade sauce, meatballs, and sausages, for everyone to enjoy. They also had a super-cute program with a video presentation. I hate to admit it, but I was trying my hardest to hold back tears. These kids have been some of A.J.'s best friends for the last two years, as well as the moms being some of my dearest friends here in AZ!

KinderPrep Preschool Class of 2011

We even ended the day with a rainbow!

Aunt Angela's Visit

Last week, my sister came to visit for the entire week! We had a lot of fun going different places and just hanging out. I would like to thank her for putting up with my crazy kids, and thus crazy mother (even if she now refuses to have kids of her own). She is definitely a "special" aunt...

;-)

ASU Softball

Friday night, we decided to go to an A.S.U softball game. My sister used to play softball in high school, so I thought she would enjoy seeing a game. The game was fun, but unfortunately, they lost (the team is 49-6 and the number one team in the country and we picked a game that they actually lost)!!! For the kids, it was all about the pretzels and popcorn!

Ostrich Farm

We went down to Tucson on Thursday so my sister could go to a concert. The boys had fun spending the night in a hotel and on the way home on Friday, we stopped by the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. The little farm had deer, goats, donkeys, lorikeets, and, of course, ostriches. The boys had fun feeding the animals, although Isaac did have a little run-in with one of the ostriches ;-)

A.J. and the deer

Feeding the deer

Isaac feeding the deer

The boys and the ostriches

It was safer to feed the birds through the pipes!

The ostrich attacking Isaac :-(

After the bird incident, Isaac was a little hesitant to feed the rest of the animals

A.J. and the "Hole in the Wall Gang", otherwise known as the goats

The donkeys

A.J. feeding the lorikeets

Angela getting attacked by the birds

The boys and the ostrich eggs

Pool Party

On Thursday, one of A.J.'s classmates had a pool party. The kids all had a great time swimming! I don't know what is going to be worse this summer...A.J. missing all these kids or me missing hanging out with all the moms. What a great group of friends!

The kids had a blast!

A.J. jumping in

Best buddies, Ryan and A.J.

Isaac even got in on the action

The kids loved dragging him around the pool...

...I think he was just a little tired ;-)

Tomatoes

A.J. loves tomatoes and always asks if we can buy some at the store. I'm sick of paying almost $3/lb for them, so we decided to grow our own. Even after forgetting to water them multiple times, we are now reaping the benefits of home grown tomatoes...mmm, does it get any better?

A.J.'s first tomato

Yummy!

Mother's Day

Sunday was Mother's Day. Since Andy had to go out of town that day and since my sister was in town, I told Andy he might as well leave early so he could visit with his family (he had a business trip back in IL all week), and I treated myself to an overnight trip to La Jolla!!! The weather was cold, but the boys still had a great time looking for seashells, crabs, and just playing in the sand. Isaac was a little hesitant at first...funny how he will play in the sandbox all day, but didn't want to walk on the sand at the beach (sometimes I wonder if he really is my child)! It was great just to get away for a night.

Exploring one of the beaches

I took A.J.'s picture in this exact same spot before he had a brother...now I had to get a shot with both boys!

Isaac was a little scared and didn't want to let go of brother...luckily, A.J. was a good sport!

Watching the waves come in

A.J. found a flower, and we put it in Angela's hair...she forgot about it and was walking around the beach like this for a long time ;-)

Isaac putting his feet in the sand...not a big fan

We found a rock for Isaac to sit on and he built sand castles

A.J., on the other hand, LOVED the beach and loved looking for seashells!

My sanity!

My little stinker, God bless him

Finally, a picture together

All tuckered out