Spring Break!

I know that in the Wilson Family Spring Break doesn't really mean anything yet.... we don't have kids in school, it isn't taking vacation time from work (for me), I am not a teacher but we still felt the need to celebrate so here are some of our fun activities from this week=)

Monday, Kim and I decided to come up with something really fun - check out the Phoenix Children's Museum! So....I am running a few minutes behind (what else is new!) and she calls me to say that it was closed! Why didn't we think to check on that? Her husband says the two of us are like the "Blind Leading the Blind!" HAHA! So, we decided to take the kids to the zoo - we had a blast! The only bad thing was that neither one of us was planning on going to the zoo so we weren't dressed for the zoo and we didn't have the kids dressed for the zoo but we survived!

I LOVE DANIEL'S Shirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My son trying to climb the fence to hang out with the giraffes!

Like I said, we weren't prepared for the zoo so we didn't bring them swim clothes for the splash pad!

The last time I took Daniel to the zoo, he LOVED the splash pad but this time he chickened out! I think there were too many kids for him to let loose!

Daniel and his friend Kendall in front of the huge turtles!

They also loved the Fisher Price playground....

Then there was the petting zoo... Kim and I almost passed out at the smell but we said we would stay long enough to get a picture then we took our babies and disinfected those kids like crazy!

Daniel was squatting down to look at the goat under the bench=)

After a whole day at the zoo, it was exhausted!

Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day so we hosted the Hot Mammas St. Patrick's Day Party at our house!

Kim and Kendall looking at Reece!

I wish I would have got a better shot at the table but Michella brought me a beautiful bouquet of roses and lilies - I LOVED THEM!

Daniel getting a lesson in sharing!

Some of the Hot Mammas!

That afternoon, Michella, Kim, my husband and I all went to the gym to take BODY PUMP - one of the two instructors was due with her baby in 5 days and she had more weight on her bar than most guys in that room - we were all like...."What the heck???"

Wednesday, we met Heather and Isaiah at the Toddler McDonald's... I forgot my camera! But we wanted to hang out with them for a little bit before they move back to Michigan.

On Thursday the CLC Play Group went to one of my favorite places - MARLEY FARMS!

This little pony got a little too close to Daniel for his comfort!

Mommy trying to act "cool" around the horse and feed it from my hand so Daniel will realize these cute little farm animals are nothing to be afraid of!

So.... Audrey had a little "blow out" in her car ride to the farm AND out of all of us moms - NO ONE had an extra outfit - isn't that crazy!?!? So, we all learned a lesson!

I tried so hard to get a picture of the little toddlers together but this was the best I could get!

Saturday night we had some friends over and this was my beautiful son on his THIRD outfit for the day because he is just all boy!

Daniel and Easton playing in the rock garden....

The below pic has to be one of favorites.... we even were missing a baby (Izzie) but there were 4 sets of parents and 6 babies under 19 months old! The miracle of this night was that we all got to sit down together and have dinner at one time while the babies all hung out in their chairs!

On a complete random side note.... dinner that night was AMAZING!!! The food was sooo delicious! I am so ready to do it again... whose hosting our next get together??? =)

Please notice in the below pic how Daniel and Audrey are little by little starting to strip off clothes for one reason or another... toddlers and their clothes!

Enjoying Beautiful Arizona Weather!

Yesterday we went to a play date at Erin and Collin's house and look at these adorable 3 blondie boys... are these little guys going to be heart breakers or what? =)

Daniel is getting soooo smart and I can't believe what all he takes in - like he knows how to change out my garbage! It is so nice to have a second male in the house to do the "man's" work!

I also re-introduced Daniel to play-doh this week and this time he really liked it! The first time was when he was 12 months and he thought it was something to eat=)

We have also spending a lot of time outside because the weather has been sooo nice! I bought Daniel this Tonka truck last weekend because he is falling more and more in love with trucks every day!

Daniel playing with his water table!

On Tuesday, we went to a play date at Kristi and Asher's house - he is due to be a big brother this Thursday - how exciting!

Monday night, I went to my ladies Bible Study at church and I am loving the book we are going through called CAPTIVATING!

Saturday night we went over to my parents for a little get together - we spent some time in the spa and my mom made us homemade chocolate chip cookies to eat while we were hanging out in the spa - ahhhh! Still nice to be spoiled by mom!

Friday night we got third row seats (thanks to my famous brother-in-law) to see Joyce Meyers! Loved it!

The other highlight of my week was that I took a gym class EVERY SINGLE DAY this week! I feel so great and am really proud of myself... I am so glad that I found a routine that works with my schedule... one of my favorite classes was Kickboxing!

Have a great weekend!

Where Have We Been?

I know! I know! We totally dropped off BLOGGING planet! I know you really don't want to hear my excuses but we have been SUPER busy! Unfortunately, I have forgotten my camera to just about every event we have been to the past couple of weeks - ugghhh!!!

So, the week after MiMi left... My brother came to stay with us and a friend of Brendon's... the pictures below are sooo cute as Daniel is "vacuuming" (with his toy vacuum) one of the guest bedroom's with his daddy!

On Wednesday of that week, we went to this event with some of our friends called, "Bikes, Bounce and Boogie." They had a little highway system set up for the kids with bikes for all ages and then they had a bounce house, bounce balls and some music. Daniel had a blast - he makes sure he tells me every single "bi" (aka "bicycle) that he sees!

Then Thursday was a SUPER busy day for us as we went to a morning play date at our friend Sheila and Kai's house because his mommy is going back to work and we are very sad that she won't be able to come to as many play dates anymore! Then we headed from that play date to our church's play group which met at a park and it was sooo nice and relaxing to enjoy this incredible Arizona weather we are having!

That Saturday my parents came home so they picked up my brother and they had a special treat for me - Tom's Black Wrap boots! http://www.tomsshoes.com/ProductDetails.aspx?CategoryID=7&productID=245 This organization is so amazing as he sends a pair of shoes over seas to a poor nation for every pair of shoes you buy - and his shoes are super trendy!

Then that night we went to Hon Machi for our friend Carol's birthday! We had a great time stuffing ourselves on Sushi and Chicken Teriyaki served by the very entertaining chef=)

Then on Monday night, I went out with a group of my girlfriend's for Leah's birthday - we went to Brio http://www.brioitalian.com/ and if you like Italian food, then you will love this restaurant!

Tuesday, I had my much anticipated Annual "Female" Appointment - the only good thing is that I have switched OBGYN's and I really like this guy - and he comes highly recommended by two of my friends!

One of my friends that recommended him was Kristi and she is due in the next two weeks with her second baby so we went over to their house on Wednesday to let Daniel play with his friend Asher!

Then on Thursday we went to our Hot Mamma's play date at Kim's house - she moved into a new home recently and it is a beautiful home!

SATURDAY WAS OUR 5th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!! I woke up to a beautiful bouquet of roses, a romantic breakfast at my favorite place of all times - The Farm at South Mountain! Then was dropped off to my surprise at LaVida for a wonderful massage! That evening we went to dinner and a movie and Auntie watched Daniel during the day then he spent the night with his grandparents!

Sunday we went to Dominick's 2nd birthday party and got to meet his new baby sister too - so precious!

Then on Monday we went to the zoo with friends and Daniel had a blast ESPECIALLY in the splash pad... this was his 1st experience in a splash pad because last year he couldn't walk and let me just tell you this kid had a ball!

I had a blast on Monday afternoon as I finally joined a gym that I love! http://www.fitnessworks.com/ I have heard amazing reviews about their classes and now I have gotten to experience them for myself! I have gone to one everyday this week - I am a total addict! The environment is so motivating - the trainer is on a very high stage with a camera on him that projects him on two large screens on each side of the stage... the room is totally decked out with an amazing sound system and lighting system!

Tuesday, we finally wrapped our taxes up with our CPA - YEAH!

Yesterday, I went to a really cool event called ISES... stands for International Special Events Society http://www.ises.com/- it was at the Botanical Gardens and it was an interesting networking opportunity for me to promote our business to some high profile businesses in the Valley.

Today, we went to the park for our CLC playgroup and got to feed the ducks - Daniel LOVED IT!!!!

Then we came home and I let him play outside some more - that is all he wants to do is to be outside.... such a boy, huh?

Well, there is our SUPER POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bye, Bye Mimi!!!

Yes, Mimi left on Thursday morning - we were all very sad! We made some wonderful memories though while she was here that we will cherish.

Starting with where I left off on the last post... Daniel had his last tumbling class last Thursday and we couldn't find another class to fit within his nap schedule so we are going to sit this session out.


Last Friday, we had a fun girl's day (+ Daniel)... my mom treated myself, Maggie, and Leigh Anne to Lunch at The Cheesecake Factory at the Biltmore. Daniel is AMAZING at restaurants... I am so blessed. He sat in his high chair for the whole time we were there like an angel. Then my mom has a favorite store at the Biltmore called Cornelia Park and she wanted to show Leigh Anne this store as it has some amazing pieces that super talented Auntie could make! I wish I could tell you about the toddler who terrorized my son and I so we had to leave but we don't have time!

Saturday evening we had Chad and Andrea over - they were visiting from the D.C. area and we always love grilling steaks on Saturday evenings with friends!


Monday... my mom wanted to do girls lunch again since our time with Maggie was coming to an end... so this time we hit the Tempe Marketplace which is a great spot if the wind is not blowing like crazy and raining!

Tuesday evening we took Maggie out for dinner... again, Daniel was incredible! What would I do if Daniel didn't like going out with us?!?!

See my red shrug - Mimi knit that for me!

On Wednesday, I had to take Daniel back to see Dr. Jones as he had not been feeling good since Sunday! RSV, Strep and Pneumonia are spreading like wildfire so I was hoping that Daniel didn't pick that up... thankfully, he just had a post-nasal drip! We decided to take him to lunch with us then drop him off at my mom's house so we could have a nice afternoon with Maggie!

She enjoys gardening so we thought she would enjoy the Desert Botanical Gardens and she LOVED it!

She also knit me a pink shrug!

So, Brendon thought the below shot would be pretty... except, he thought he would be funny by making me stay in this position forever... claiming he was focusing the camera. Meanwhile, a thousand people passed by me thinking I was quite weird!

The Botanical Gardens has a special display of an incredible artist who works with glass... at night, all of his work is illuminated and I have heard it is beautiful! The below picture shows some of his red glass.

After the Gardens, we went to the IMAX theater to see The Grand Canyon! Then we picked up Daniel and went to Leigh Anne and Aaron's house for dinner... then everyone came back to our house so we could put Daniel to bed. My parents brought desert over and everyone said they "Good-Byes."

Thursday morning, Mimi left and our house has felt different since she left! Daniel was still not feeling good on Thursday... so, unfortunately, he missed TWO, Super-Cute Valentine Day Parties - I am talking both of them would have made Martha Stuart proud and we missed them=(

On Friday, my mom hosted her annual Valentine's Day Tea... this year she chose Inspirations as her spot and they did a great job with it! I have never been to a tea house where they have antique cups everywhere and you get to pick out your tea cup that you are going to drink out of THEN you get to bring it home with you! In the evening, we had our LIFE group over and we LOVE it!

Saturday morning... I got spoiled by TWO men in my life now! I love it!

Daniel got a "boon" for V-Day and some art supplies as he is really getting into doing crafts with mommy! My parents got him this children's cookie making set so he has "real" utensils and it has cookie mix, icing for kids, sprinkles that we will make this week!

We also went to Ikea's Big Sale - A whole set of King Size sheets (400 thread count) for $9.99! Brendon and Daniel had made me a virtual card for Valentine's Day - it was sooooo cute! I wish I knew how to post it... basically Daniel and Brendon practiced a song... Daniel blew his flute for it=) LOL! Daniel spent the night with my parents and we went out to dinner and a movie with some friends.

My dad dressed Daniel for church this morning since Daniel spent the night with them... when Daniel saw me at church, he came running to give me a hug - then I sniffed him and realized my son smelled like Dolce & Gabana! Yes! My Dad sprayed Cologne on Daniel=) HAHA!

Sunday afternoons can be "interesting" because Daniel is not on his normal routine and schedule so I usually have to come up with something creative to keep him happy until bed time! Today is was painting!

My Picasso's Masterpieces!

My brother is staying with me all week as my parents are going to be out of town AND Brendon has a friend from Texas flying in tomorrow evening so it is time to change out all of our guest bedroom sheets.... if you are ever in the area, feel free to book a stay at Hotel Wilson! We have received some good reviews=)

Happy 18 Months Old, My Big Boy!

We realized that 1 week from today, Mimi leaves to go back to South Africa and we are getting VERY SAD! I really hope Daniel doesn't get too upset because they have developed a very special relationship.... everyday she gives Daniel some outside time and he LOVES it!

The above picture is Daniel YELLING for Max... his BFF!

The above picture is Daniel playing with all of his wonderful outdoor toys while MiMi was knitting a shrug for me... yeah!

Last Monday, we went with our friends to this wonderful Farm by our house... http://www.marleyfarms.com/. This is an actual farm that hardly anyone knows about and they have tons of animals that you can get extremely up close and personal with - we even fed them and it was just very refreshing! I am so glad Daniel gets to grow up with such a variety of environments!

Tuesday we all went shopping at AZ Mills Mall and Daniel was a trooper in his stroller for us! That night we had a fun dinner at my parents with family and friends... the funniest thing ever happened that day. My mom was talking in a very animated way and laughing - I happened to glance over at Daniel in his high chair and he was copying every one of her moves and her laughs... It gave me the biggest belly laugh ever then he started laughing like me and you know how they say laughter is contagious... well you know what happened the rest of the night!

Thursday we went to Daniel's Tumbling Class and he has being doing fantastic in this class - tomorrow is his last class=(

On Saturday, we woke up early, packed the car... grabbed Starbucks, met up with Aaron, Leigh Anne and Maggie and went for a day trip to Sedona and Jerome!


We visited this chapel in the mountains that is very famous in photographs - I think it is even a historic landmark now and it was beautiful up there!

On the hike up to the chapel, you see this amazing home that is being built... you know me and my outgoing personality, I wanted to know whose house it was. I found out it was Dr. Yon's house from Romania. He has invented several surgical procedures/ instruments and makes some "dough" off of his royalties= )

Then we went to this town called Jerome - it is an old mining town that is literally sliding off the mountain BUT it was way cool!

On Tuesday, Daniel had his 18 month check up....

Height: 34 1/4"

Weight: 25 pounds, 9.5 ounces

He is doing great! The doctor is extremely impressed with his development and milestones... I can't believe we don't go back until he is 2 years old!

Today, we went to Sara and Audrey's house for CLC Playgroup - we had a great time especially meeting Izzy for the first time (Audrey's 6 week old sister) and Daniel was actually intrigued with her - no jealousy when I was holding her! YEAH!

In addition to all this, I have been working like crazy! Our business has done really well this month and then I have two contract accounting jobs that are a great release for me as well... next week we are meeting with our accountant to go over 2008 taxes and let me just say that I will be very relieved when that meeting is over=)