School is out this week! Are we ready for summer?
We sure are making plans to get away from the summer heat!

Brandon and Taylor have loved preschool!
Below they are singing songs from their Spring Program.
Brandon is a great singer and Taylor is as well, but...
Taylor hardly moved a muscle.

The B-I-B-L-E song! I think Taylor even started to sing a few lines at preschool.
At home she can do it all by herself.









Brandon and Taylor are here singing "Say to the Lord, I love you!" at preschool as well as home.





Brandon singing the Prayer song.

S U R P R I S E!

Well it is no surprise that Brandon is turning 5 on May 13th!
(It is a surprise that his mom is posting pictures of his party two days ago! YEA! :))

Brandon celebrated his 5th birthday party at Peter Piper's Pizza!
Over thirty invites were sent out (preschool and church friends)!
Luckily 17 children made the party and all had fun!
The cake was from Costco and delicious!
Brandon scored on some really fun presents, even a gift card to go to the movies!

Wednesday, May 13th is Brandon's actual birth date.
We plan to have a family dinner out to CPK
(because he got a free b-day dinner and desert there).
When we return home he will have more presents to open from family!

CROCK-POT COOKING

Check out this blog site for crock-pot cooking! Yum!
http://365daysofcrockpot.blogspot.com

My BIG 3 year old!

My little girl is not so little any more. She is now three!
Here she is dressed in her Sunday best ready for church on her birthday (Sunday, October 26th). She also received a special treat to take home and make (the birthday crown below).

We went one day to the Phoenix Zoo as a family for Taylor's birthday. They got to dress up in their Halloween costumes and ride on the camel.

Sunday night on Taylor's birthday, after FHE, we opened presents and had cake/brownies for Taylor's birthday. FHE that night was on sharing your favorite toys. Taylor did not take to it very well after opening her new toys.


Taylor had a brownie "cake" for her birthday! She loves chocolate! She also like/loves ICE CREAM very much! When blowing out the candles, she almost got her hair too close to the candles.

Taylor is now our BIG 3 year old! Hip, Hip, Hip Horray!!! Out of second year and into her third, hopefully better than the last. Below are a few videos of Taylor. They capture her randomness. The video on the left is Taylor on her new bouncy ball she got for her birthday. She stops to take a call from a new toy. The video on the right is of Taylor eating her chocolate brownie/cake and talks of her new imaginary friend "Pede."

Thanks again to all family members who sent gifts. Taylor loves all her gifts.

Halloween Pictures

Halloween Day

Brandon and Taylor had parties at their preschool.
They were dressed as a doctor and a nurse.

Here they are after trick-or-treating with all of their candy!

A week before Halloween our church ward had a trunk-or-treat, where they pass out candy from the back of your car. I dressed up as their patient.

Here are a few of Brandon's friends from church.

Brandon and Taylor decorated their own cookies! Yum!

The same day as the trunk-or-treat we celebrated Taylor's birthday as a family at the zoo. It was Boo at the Zoo day and they got to dress up. It was a lot of fun. There was a parade, games, shows, food, camel ride, and of course all of the other animals. In some exhibits they threw pumpkins in to see how the animals would react to it. The last pictures is of the kids in front of the sting rays, a special exhibit.

the PLACES we GO

We love Costco! We go there to eat or shop for clothes, toys, food, or anything for the home! Costco is great! Plus it is a lot closer to our house than in Indiana. We are there like once a week.

Chick-Fil-A, upscale fast food, yummy! We all like it, especially on Tuesday nights when it is kids night and they have activities. I even planned a visiting teaching apt here with our kids!

I don't cut hair! The kids love this place and it is worth it.

Oh Bashas! I serious love this place! You ask, "what is Bashas?" A grocery store. But not just any grocery store. A grocery store with FREE CHILD CARE up to 90 mins! That is right! I was totally shocked and surprised when I heard this the first time I came out here looking in this area for homes, without the kids. I immediately asked for an application to get them started. Taylor was just at eh perfect age (2 1/2 - 10). I LOVE it! The kids LOVE it! It is absolutely the BEST! I can't rave about it more! Below is a picture of Taylor in front of the child care center. You obviously have to be in the store while they are there, but there is a bakery/cafe with table and chairs inside so you can enjoy the time. Grocery shopping is a whole new experience. I love walking around the store kid free.

New Covenant Preschool (Luthern Church) is where Brandon and Taylor go to preschool. It is literally 5 mins from our house. It is a really nice preschool. The kids really enjoy it here. And so do I. There are also many other families from out church that go here too.

The Library - 2 min from our house, across the street from our housing development. Also there is an elementary school right next store that Brandon will go to Kindergarden next year. The Library is a fun place for the kids. They like to get books there, plus there are activity days and story time for all ages.

Village Clubs

I recently started working at a sports club here in Scottsdale called the Village. It is a really nice club, better than the one in Indianapolis. I am working back at the child care services. It is great fun for the kids too. They enjoy going to work with me. It is easy work, not hard at all, similar to what I was doing in Indiana. I just started this week. I look forward to working out there as well as work.

Here is a picture of the lobby to the Village sports club where I work. There are three of these sports clubs just in Scottsdale let alone! The one I work at is called DC Ranch, five minutes from our house.