Catch-Up Post: Homework

There have recently been many news articles about how this (our!) generation of parents think their children should not be assigned homework (or, worse yet, just refuse to do what is assigned!).  Well, as an educator and as a parent, I'm here to tell you that homework is important, meaningful, something we will continue to do.

I wanted to share that our kindergartener, at the age of 5, completed this book report.  We did it together and it was amazing!  We read Elmer, she answered the questions about it with me assisting with spelling, and she made this cute elephant pumpkin!

She was proud and we enjoyed doing it together.

Catch-Up Post: Halloween

We had a blast on Halloween this year!  Shyla was Little Red Riding Hood, Harper was a Ladybug, and I was a cup of coffee!

The girls had a parade at their school that both Stevie and I were able to attend, followed by snacks and goodies.

We spent the evening by visiting our amazing neighbors' house (Karen & Brian), then enjoyed the cul-de-sac potluck at Grandma and Grandpa's, and then trick-or-treating at 49ers Country Club.

Wine Tasting Excursion

Yesterday was a fun day!  Stevie and I spent the day with our friends Becky and Andy, along with Becky's parents, down in Elgin, AZ for wine tasting.  It was fun and tasty and a great start to the holidays!
Becky and I have been friends since high school, we lived together in college, and we were both in each other's weddings.  It was a great opportunity to relax and laugh together.
Meanwhile, the girls spent the afternoon (after school) with Grandma, preparing for Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Blog Revival!

To say that life has been busy is a total understatement.  Between work, busy schedules, and trying to cherish every moment with these girls that are growing way too quickly, there hasn't seemed to be a lot of time to maintain the blog.

However, it is important.  It is important to me and it's important to the girls both now and in the future.

So, I'm back!  The family journal will continue after a 4 month break!

Harper's 5th Birthday Party!

Yesterday was Harper's 5th birthday party - a Fancy Nancy Tea Party!  I think all the girls had a good time.  It was fun and exhausting!

Scottsdale Vacation Day 7

Yesterday was our last full day of vacation.  We spent the morning at the Phoenix Zoo.  It was hot but we had a good time.  I love watching the girls play nicely together, they really enjoyed petting the goats, and we all liked seeing the baby ape playing with a cardboard box.

When we got back to the hotel we ate a quick lunch and then headed to the pool for a few hours!  Shyla had fun with Ivy and Harper ended up falling asleep in my arms and had to be carried back to the room.

Finally, to complete the evening, we decided to utilize a special going on at the hotel: if you dine at Deseo (a fancy-schmancy restaurant in the hotel), children can attend the Kid's Club Pajama Party for free (usually $50/child) and for being owners at the Villas we got 20% off our bill.  We dropped the girls off at 5:30pm and our reservation was for 6:00pm.  Shyla, again, was hesitant walking toward the Kid's Club but once we arrived she was ecstatic to see all the games and fun things to do.  Our meal was delicious and fancy and way too much food!  

After dinner we picked out 2 desserts (chocolate peanut butter pie and a chocolate covered strawberry), a cup of coffee, and enjoyed them on the beautiful patio overlooking the golf course while live music played.  It was glorious!

At about 8:15pm we went to pick up the girls who were now in the OK Corral.  They had made smores (2 each!) and were playing with the teacher and 2 other kids.  They were having a blast and we basically ruined their night by picking them up.  I suppose that's a sign of a good night and a fun day!

Scottsdale Vacation Day 6

Yesterday was a pretty low-key day but fun nonetheless!  We had a relaxing morning and enjoyed a yummy breakfast with Grandpa Steve and Viv, then we had to say goodbye to them as they were heading back to Tucson.  We sure are glad they made the trip up here!

After that, Stevie and I attended our "update meeting" that we have to complete as part of our time-share.  A few things of note:

• The update was so low-pressure it was kind of ridiculous!  We really appreciated that we got to ask our questions and hear about the new villas, without feeling like they were trying to sell us something.  And we got our $100 gift card.  Score!

• Even more important - Shyla and Harper got to attend Westin Kid's Club for free during our meeting.  Shyla was nervous walking up but ended up having a great time!  They had a yummy lunch and made all sorts of arts and crafts, including learning how to make a loom bracelet.  So proud of my girl!

After the meeting we headed toward Phoenix and met up with the Woods at Joe's (yes, again!) and then joined them at their hotel, The Grand.  As you can see from the pictures, they had some pretty intense slides that Shyla, Joey, and Stevie did multiple times.  Harper and I enjoyed the wave pool (she was showing off her swimming skills for Sydney) and the lazy river.  We all had a great dinner together before we headed back to Scottsdale for bed - exhausted!

Stevie and Jerry ended up going to play Top Golf and Stevie didn't get back to the hotel until about 3am!  Crazy!