An Overdue Update

Has it really been that long since my last post? Well, we've been up to quite a bit in the last month. We celebrated Brandon's fourth birthday on March third. Sean was in Mexico, so we had grandma over for Brandon's favorite dinner and presents. When Sean got home, we had cake. It was fun for Brandon to be able to celebrate his birthday for a couple of days. His favorite present is a Hot Wheels stunt track.

Even though I only have twelve credit hours this semester, it doesn't seem to be any less time consuming than other semesters. I am graduating on May 8, so my hard work will pay off soon!

We were going to go to Utah for my spring break, but our plans changed. Sean was not able to take the whole week off, which made two twelve hour days in the car seem like too much. We then got an invitation to join Will and Kelly at Audrey's house in California! It's only a six hour drive there, so we loved that idea. We also loved the idea of warm weather and being with everyone. It was so fun to spend time with everyone. We went to Disneyland, the beach, and California Adventure.

You really can't beat a week like that! Thanks for accommodating us last minute, Audrey. The break was needed for all of us. I can't wait to do it again!

Soccer Fun

Soccer season started last Saturday, and what an eye opening experience! Sean is Brandon's coach and I am the assistant coach. Who knew that the other coaches and parents would be so intense about soccer for three and four year olds!?! Not us. We've been trying to keep things pretty laid back and it seems to be working for the most part.
Brandon really enjoys doing drills, but he doesn't like playing the actual game. At this level, the eight kids on the field all follow the ball around and even try to take it from their own team mates. Brandon just likes to dribble the ball from goal to goal and score. He doesn't like having to share the ball with the other kids, or being restricted to one goal. He hasn't been very enthused about soccer since our first game, and didn't even want to go today. I told him soccer is a really cool and fun sport. He did a little better today, probably because he knew what to expect. Tonight he said, "Mom, you're right. Soccer is a fun game!" I was relieved. Hopefully he'll keep up that attitude for next Saturday.
I don't have any real action shots, because Sean and I are on the field during the game. We have 12 kids on the team; I take six and Sean takes six and we play each other. We basically tell them not to touch it with their hands, to go toward the right goal, and to stay in bounds.
He smiled for this picture and then kicked the ball at my legs. He thinks he's hilarious.
Brandon loves having us as his coaches. I don't think we'll do it again, but it's fun for the time being. We're having our team pictures taken next Saturday at 6:45 a.m.. Is the sun even up that early? I guess we'll find out!

My Happy Birthday

This birthday was great! My parents are always really great at spoiling me on my birthdays and Sean does an amazing job spoiling me more. While in Utah, I played my parent's piano a little and realized how much I miss playing. I realized even more how much I have regressed. I haven't taken lessons since middle school, but I still played here and there as long as there was a piano around. I mentioned to Sean that I would like a keyboard for my birthday so that I could practice a little. Guitar Hero has done a great job filling the music void in my life and Guitar Hero is a fun game to play, but it doesn't really advance my music skills. Sean, of course, went out and got me a super nice keyboard! It's so nice that I have a hard time calling it a keyboard. The keys are weighted and have hammer action, so that it feels like you are playing a real piano. It also has a full 88 keys and a pedal. It has many features that are perfect for our lifestyle. It fits in our apartment, I can plug headphones in during Brandon's nap, it's not very heavy so we can move it easily with us, and it will never need to be tuned. I am extremely thrilled with it. I have also gone through my mother-in-law's music collection, so along with the sonata books I took from my Mom, I have plenty of music to play.
For my birthday, we went to dinner with our friends Ethan and Susie. We went to a Japanese grill. The chef was pretty good at entertaining us and Brandon loved when he flipped the eggs around and broke them. After dinner, we went bowling.Brandon was excited and felt prepared as he has played bowling on the Nintendo Wii a few times. Brandon soon realized it's a bit harder in real life. He got quite frustrated at first, especially because the racks do not shoot the ball very straight. Soon he understood that we all were quite terrible, and just had fun with it. Susie actually broke triple digits and outscored us all by a large margin. I did come in second and Susie and I were proud to beat the boys. They usually beat us when we play movie trivia games, so we not shy about rubbing it in.
Check out how far over the rack is from the center of the lane. It took some practice, but Sean was able to get the aim fairly accurate. Brandon did get a couple of spares! Thanks for a wonderful day!

Snow Days

We arrived in Utah late New Year's Day. We slept in a little after a fun day snowboarding in Flagstaff with Sean's co-workers and celebrating New Year's Eve with family. On our drive, we had a delay in central Utah. We ran over a small rock which got kicked up underneath our car, making a loud noise. Sean pulled off to the side of the road to see if there was any visible damage. After an inspection, we pulled onto some unpacked snow on the Uinta Flats to turn around. We sank to the bottom of the snow, placing our tires to the ground and the car frame on the snow. We tried to drive out (certainly all wheel drive could handle this!), which just put us down in the snow farther. We then got our snowboards out and tried to dig our car out. Realizing the task was almost impossible, we called the police for help. Before they arrived, a young man in a large red truck drove by and we flagged him down. He had a dog chain that we hooked to our frame and he pulled us out. We were so grateful!
The next day, Brandon was anxious to get out in the snow. Amanda, Lizzie, and Grace made a snowman a couple days before, so they just went out and played in the snow. Brandon loves having cousins here to play with all day. He especially loves their sense of humor. They find the same things funny that he does!
On Thursday, we went snowboarding at Brighton. The conditions were pretty decent, and amazing compared to Snowbowl in Flagstaff. I was happy to ride a quad and have a long run to make the ride up the mountain worth it. Will was our riding buddy and kept the day humorous. It was great to have a wonderful lunch in the lodge to make the day relaxing and casual. We're happy to be in Utah and looking forward to some more snow days in the upcoming week!

Christmas is in the Air!!

We went to see Santa at the mall this week and Brandon was elated! He practiced what he was going to say to him and was able to communicate effectively his desire for a cat! He was a little nervous (as you can tell in the photo), but he was very brave. He was extremely confused when we left empty handed. He apparently thought he was supposed to get his cat right then and there!
We went to the Phoenix Zoo for family night to see the "Zoo Lights". We went with Sean's mom and Sean's sister and her family. Brandon had cute cousins to play with and Sean and I had good company as well. It was a blast! There was so much to see and fun Christmas music playing the whole way through. One of the first things to see is this large tree completely covered in blue lights. It was truly a spectacle! Look for Brandon standing on the rock in front of the tree.


Brandon has always loved alligators and enjoyed the lighted alligators, too!



This photo below does not do the spiders any justice. They were so cool!! They had the large spiders up in the trees and one spider is about to eat a bug stuck in the web. I really thought of Lizzie and how much she would have enjoyed this little scene.



This rattle snake's tail changed to make it seem like it was rattling.


Some animals were still awake when we were wondering around. I guess this Zebra got used to his peace after dark, so he was snacking right next to the viewer area. He immediately ran off after the flash went off right in his face. Sorry, Zebra!


This is a video of the light show on the bridge. The lights corresponded to the song and was really fun for everyone. We will definitely be back to "Zoo Lights" next year. It was an impressive display.

Temple Lights

Tonight, we went to the Mesa temple to look at the lights. It was great to hear an A Capella group while gazing at the palm trees decorated in brilliant lights of all colors. Brandon's favorite was a light fountain that looked like water was actually coming down. Brandon saw it and excitedly asked, "Mommy, can I jump in it?" He's such an adventurous kid. He loved the lights, but was not pleased by the string of lights creating restrictions on where he could go. He asked if we could "open the gate" and go touch the lights. He was a bit disappointed in my answer.
My favorite was the display of lights floating on the pond in front of the Visitor's Center. It was really beautiful. I am still partial to the lights at the Salt Lake Temple, but at least my toes and ears weren't freezing! After the lights we went back to Sean's mom's house for hot chocolate and muffins. It was a great way to end the night.

Arizona Winter

I'm really getting used to the Arizona winter weather. I don't miss scraping off my windows, having to wear shoes and socks daily, or getting the bottom of my pants wet from dragging in the snow. I'm finally adjusting and able to get into the spirit of Christmas, even though it's not snowing. I think I like the warm winters! It is nice, however, to visit the snow.
Sean is starting to get really busy at work and I'm preparing to take my finals next week. This has definitely not been my best semester. It has been one of the easiest and I guess I got lazy. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks when my grades post.

Here are a couple of photos we took the other night, including a shot that Brandon took. He loves all of the Christmas decorations around, especially the lights. It's so great to get into Christmas with him; it makes the commercial aspect of the holiday more fun. Oh, and here's our elf dance!!!

http://elfyourself.com/?id=1187541279