Spring Break... Week 1

*** Just a side note, I started working on this post on March 24th... here it is April 17th and I am finishing it!

Well... Spring Break had a whole new meaning this year... this is Daniel's 1st year in pre-school and pre-school has Spring Break! Even though Daniel is only in pre-school 2 mornings a week for 3 hours each day, I didn't realize how much he NEEDS school and how much I appreciate the little break! I told Brendon... this is why people go away for Spring Break or you would have to work really hard to plan a zillion places to go and things to do so your kid wouldn't go crazy during Spring Break!

I heard every day (20 times a day!), "Mommy, what are we doing tomorrow morning? After lunch and I take a nap, then what will we do?" My kid is a total planner... he has to have his clothes picked out the night before and he needs the whole run down of his schedule for the next day before he goes to bed at night and now he is adventuring into the whole week's schedule! I am totally convinced that this kid's strength will be project management and time management will NEVER be an issue for him!

Wednesday morning, Lauren came over and did my hair and cut his hair (which he LOVES!) then we met Kim to go to Marley Farms. We found out that Katelyn is completely TERRIFIED of horses... we typically walk by the stables on our way to the petting zoo and Katelyn thought that an animal that is 1000x the size of her who leans his long neck way down in her stroller was way too scary! Honestly, I thought it was adorable because it was the 1st time she showed the emotion of fear! Well, between the 4 kids and the 2 cameras... we got 0 pictures!

Unfortunately, we didn't get out much because my car was in the shop getting worked on... remember my accident I had last August? Well, I never took my car to the body shop to get the damage repaired because when can this mamma go 3 -5 days without a car? Ummm... NEVER!

So, we stayed home and had lots of quality time with my kiddos! We had to get the gates out because Katelyn is into EVERYTHING! I couldn't even go to the bathroom without her doing something she wasn't supposed to! This was her 1st time in it and this was the last time she thought it was great! So we don't enclose it anymore... we just set it up to keep her out of areas that she shouldn't be in.... I couldn't imagine NOT having this!

Katelyn also loves her baby stroller! Just wait until you hear about Katelyn's OBSESSION with babies in future posts... I find it fascinating!

The next set of photos are MY FAVORITE!!!

So, here is Katelyn getting into our entertainment center... naughty girl=)

.... touching mommy's candles and shells while I am telling her, "No, no" with a camera in a hand!=) Apparently she could tell that I really meant it.

Then she moves on to the next built-in... I had cleverly put her toy box and table in front of this one so she couldn't get to my things BUT she was not happy that I had set up this barricade! So, enjoy seeing the happiest baby ever get a temper... LOL!

She is looking at me... and her face says it all!

... Now she is MAD!

... somehow she had squeezed the table and toy box over by a few inches and that was enough for her little fingers to get what she wanted! She has perseverance... one day this will get her very far in life if she perseveres for the RIGHT things!

Thursday was St. Patty's Day and we went to my mom's house for corn beef and cabbage... yummy! For some reason, I really wasn't in a picture taking mood this week... LOL!

Friday night we went out to dinner with The DeLaTorre's to this very authentic Mexican place in Mesa... it was very fun! I wish I could remember the name because it was such a fun place and so authentic so I highly recommend it! It wasn't just a place to eat at.. it was a place to EXPERIENCE.

Adios, Amigas!

Post Cali

Well, the week after Cali was CRAZY! Pre-school was scheduled to be at our house so I had to prepare that week and then have the kiddos over... it makes for a very rewarding and exhausting day!

But we did treat ourselves to another house "treat!" Again... one of the projects that we were going to do as soon as we moved into our house was switch out our fridge... the only white appliance among our black appliances. Don't judge me based on the below fridge

Here is our Black Beauty... we now have a matching kitchen! The funny thing is how many people didn't even notice that our fridge was white and all of our other appliances were black!

We did have a Wednesday Park Play date but I didn't take pics AND we had soccer on Sat AM!

7th Anniversary and My Happy Place

On February 28th, Brendon and I celebrated 7 years of marriage! I honestly couldn't imagine my life without him... he surprised me with a massage that afternoon and dinner that night. It is very hard to get away on a romantic trip because we have a baby that is COMPLETELY addicted to nursing! I am looking to have her join a "NA" group... Hi, My Name is Katelyn and I am addicted to nursing!"

... which leads me to... Wednesday we left for "My Happy Place!" NEWPORT BEACH! One of my favorite places ever! I just love Newport Beach.... every cell in my body becomes completely alive when I am there!

Once again we left Daniel with my parents and took Katelyn with us because part of our trip included a leadership conference called Catalyst. One of my favorite speakers was Jack Dorsey... the inventor and founder of Twitter!

Catching up....

My friend Shannon who is a wedding planner planned an adorable 1st Birthday party for her son Boston... it NEVER rains in Arizona but of course, the day she had his party planned it rained but Ms. Professional moved it into a warehouse as if it had planned that way the whole time!

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures but Daniel had a great time... just look at the pic below... LOL! Happy 1st Birthday, Boston (a SUPER SWEET little boy!)

Every Saturday morning is Soccer at the Wilson House these days... this weekend Brendon was away on a camping trip so I took both kids to the soccer game... honestly, I love it! I love being outside on a Saturday morning, taking in the beautiful weather, cheering Daniel and his team on and hanging out with some "mom" friends!

At the end of the game, they put their hands in the middle for a little cheer... sooo cute! Their coach is amazing too... she has 3 boys!

Cheer is over!

Now time to run through the parents arms while we are all screaming and cheering them on... yeah, this is a huge self esteem building exercise for these adorable 3 and 4 year olds!

Then snack time... snack time, oh snack time! Well, I am laughing right now as I am typing this. When I was a little girl and it was your mom's turn to bring "snacks" it was orange slices and you had your own water bottle. So, when we signed up for snacks, I asked the coach what the protocol was and she told us moms that she would bring snack for the 1st game then we would get an idea! The idea is basically that you have to buy out COSTCO for these kids... LOL! Basically, you are supposed to bring Organic or 100% juice boxes or bottles for half time AND the end of the game... then you need to bring individual packaged fruit (cut up) for the kids along with another snack for half time + snacks for the end... we are talking NICE SNACKS! I work out with a lady who has 3 kids of different ages in this soccer league and I asked her about the "snack" thing and she started laughing... she said I should have told you to set aside a week's grocery budget for when it is your turn for snacks! LOL! She said it is ABSOLUTELY expected! What the heck? Seriously??? Is this normal these days? Brendon told me we are going to out do all of these parents the next time and have a freakin' ice cream truck pull up on the grass and say.. there is your snack! LOL!

After the soccer game, we went to Andrea's house for a garage sale... I sold like 30 or 40 things and made $4.75! We took profit to buy lunch so that is what my "net profit" was... LOL! A very successful morning! =)

Girls Night Out(s)!

So, I always post about my kids going to birthday parties every single weekend (well, not quite but it feels like it!) but I have some pretty amazing friends as well and we like to celebrate our birthdays too... did I mention that I celebrated my last birthday last year? I am stuck at 29...eeek!

So,, the below group of ladies I met 3.5 years ago when we were all attending a New Mother's Breastfeeding Support Group! LOL!

The below group of ladies I have been in a playgroup with for the last 2.5 or 3 years!

You thought I said... Girls Night Out so why is there a guy in this picture? Well, he was our waiter... he had NO IDEA what he was getting himself into when he was given our table! However, this restaurant had just opened and let's just say that they were not prepared to be open... they didn't have enough water glasses, menus, plates, etc for us... LOL! Seriously, at one point I thought that hidden cameras were going to come out and it was some kind of joke... BUT, IT WASN'T... IT WAS ALL FOR REAL!

Our Life.

We met some of our friends at the park one afternoon for some snacks and some painting!

I love this park... it was built on a high point in the city (actually it was built on top of an old garbage dump!) and it overlooks Chandler... just look at the below pic... love it!

Katelyn chomping on her puffs!

Why didn't they have these baby food pouches when Daniel was a baby? They are awesome! My friend told me that this one combination always made her son have a blowout... it didn't work with Katelyn but she loves them!

Oh! My little girl! Another one of her favorite toys is her kitchen set!

One of my greatest challenges is that Daniel has all of these small little toys and trying to keep Katelyn away from these choking hazards is super difficult! She has a total obsession with these plastic coins that go to his cash register... well, I told him to make sure he always kept them in the drawer since she can't get into the drawer! I was wrong! She figured out which button to press to open the drawer so she can get her coins! In the below picture, she is even offering me one of her coins=)

Love these kids!