Rockin' R

 Back in May I was able to go to the Rockin' R Ranch with Max for a fieldtrip.  The last time I was there I think I was 10.  It seemed a lot bigger back then.

 Max got to rope, pet animals, look at weapons, pan for gold and make his own brand.  Yep, he had a blast.

 Group photos

 Max and his super good friend Jackson.  These two crack me up.

 Panning for gold:

 Max and I.  I love that he loves me.  He always wants me to come on his fieldtrips and is never embarrassed to sit by me or talk to me.  He is one cool kid.

 Max is desperate for a pet or for me to have another baby (I have told him repeatedly to wish for the pet because the baby aint happening).  He has a kind heart.

I love the opportunity to spend one on one time with my boys.  It was a great day.

Another fieldtrip

I have had to drive for almost all of Ben's fieldtrips this year.  They are always short parents for some reason.  It's ok by me because I love spending time with Ben and his friends.  This one was way back in March and we went to the Pueblo Grande.  My mom remembers going there when she was a kid :).  I'm really hoping I didn't already post about this - I am so far behind that I can't remember.

Any way, it was educational and the kids had to fill things out and answer questions - which meant I learned a lot too.  One of the best parts of the fieldtrip was when we were all having lunch.  I was sitting with Ben and his friends when two of his friends got up and moved to another table by a boy who was sitting all by himself.  They didn't make a big deal, they just did it.  I was so impressed!  

Later I talked to Ben about it, and he said that those boys do that a lot.  Those two boys are probably the most popular in the class.  It makes me happy to think that Ben has friends like that.

Bad news and a fieldtrip

I have some bad news. I broke my camera. Michelle came over to cut hair and she brought her rollerblades so of course Michelle and I had to rollerblade. Anyhow, I set the camera on the back of Ian's car and then it fell and the lens shattered. Piece of crap lens. I don't mean that. That lens has been great to me. When I took it to the camera shop the guy told me not to feel bad that Larry Fitzgerald had been in the week before and had dropped his camera and the whole thing was irrepairable. At least mine is only the lens. How's that for a bright side?

Well, as most of you know things are tight over here right now so there are no funds to fix the lens. So...from now on the pictures on my blog will either be from my phone or from my dad's camera or a camera that Ian's mom lent me (thank you Betty!). I took these pics with my dad's camera.

In early March, Evan's preschool had a fieldtrip to the Phoenix Children's museum. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. It is so much fun.

Unfortunately I was not feeling too good so we didn't stay as long as I would've liked. The boys still had so much fun. I was grateful to be able to spend some one on one with Evan. I sure love that boy.

Fieldtrip!

I felt like I went on a ton of fieldtrips in February and early March. I know I went on at least 4. The first one was to a theater where this guy in a body suit performed. It sounds weird but it was actually really entertaining and kind of awesome. Especially when Max's teacher went on stage and did a cartwheel.

Before the show:

I requested that Aaron and Sami ride with me since we are related. It was fun to catch up - even though we work together sometimes, it seems like we never get to talk.

Max was popular because I let him play Angry Birds on my phone. Then the teacher made me put it away. Ooops.

After the presentation we went to the park and had lunch. It was fun for Max to hang out with his friends and fun for me to hang out with Kahea and Jill. It was a win/win situation.

I am so grateful that I have been able to take some time off work to spend one on one time with my boys. I love it!

Firestation Fieldtrip

A few weeks ago I went on a fieldtrip with Evan's preschool to the firestation. It was the best firestation fieldtrip that I've been on (and I've been on quite a few).

First up: watching a movie on fire safety. I feel asleep during the movie but Josh and Evan both said that was there favorite thing about the fieldtrip. Next: a tour of the station. This included climbing in the firetrucks, seeing where the firemen work out, sleep and eat.

Just look at Evan's face - you know he was dying to go down that pole.
Ms. Lisa with a few of her favorite students :)

All the kids got fire hats. Evan still has his and wears it often. Seriously.
Next up: Ms. Lisa got to be a fireman! First she had to put on all of the gear (btw, firemen have 1 minute to put on their gear. Crazy!)


Firewoman Lisa:
Then she got to spray the hose!

The best part was that the firemen let all the kids take turns spraying the hose! They loved it!

Then the kids got to play with the hose for a while. Finally, the firemen polietly kicked us out :) and we all went to Chick-a-fila for lunch.

We had a blast!

Fish

I was able to go with Evan on his last fieldtrip to the Aquarium. At first he hid in the corner - he's shy like that.

Once Rowan got there Evan quickly joined the group. Evan's teacher has been wonderful with him - so patient. He really loved going to school this year.

The kids got a lesson on fish and the ocean. I think Evan is telling the girl next to Rowan to "back off!" :)

Then we were ready to see some fish!

All through out the aquarium there are bubbles you can duck into to get a better look at the fish. The kids loved them!

Half way through there was a theater that was playing Sponge Bob episodes on the screen. Ummm...excuse me??? Seriously. I took this picture of Addy and Ro while Evan was in a trance watching the screen. I finally got him to leave when some other people came in the theater.

I took lots of pictures of the fish - I just didn't want to post them all. There were stingrays, sea horses, giant craps, star fish, clown fish, blowfish, all kinds of sharks....this great white was the freakiest. Ummm....is it just me or does this shark have a big bite out of his fin?

More bubble time:


It's always nice for me to spend one on one time with one of the boys. I think Evan's favorite part of the whole place was the playground at the end. I need to take the older boys back - they would love it - especially Xander.

Thursday

I went to the Renaissance Festival with Xander's class. I don't know if you can tell from his face in this picture, but the day did not start out well.

I thought I was going to spend the whole field trip with my son being mad at me, but luckily he soon snapped out of it.

One of my favorite things there was the glass blower. The whole process was fascinating to me. The boys however, were quickly bored so I didn't get to see the end product.

You're never too old to dress up.


This stick game was a favorite. Too bad it cost so much to actually buy the sticks. The boys could have stayed there for hours.

The Wylde Men show was by far the best. Is there anything better than comedy combined with mud wrestling? I think not. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of the drummer - he was awesome.

Anytime Xander can pet an animal, he is in heaven. He could have held this goose for hours.

Michael told me he can talk to birds. He wasn't kidding. That boy cracks me up.

You gotta eat a turkey leg at the Renaissance Festival. The boys looked forward to it all morning.

After they bought their swords (with their own money, might I add). Michael, Xander and H took a shot at throwing Chinese stars. The guy at the booth told them to turn around and bawk like chickens - which they did. No questions asked. It was a great photo op. Btw, H's mom is a talented artist. Check out her blog here.

Stephanie (H's mom) took this picture of me and my boy(s). Michael is the son I never had :)

I like this picture of me because I'm wearing my favorite jeans. They are the softest most comfortable pair of jeans I have ever owned.

When we were getting ready to leave I got a group shot with Xander's teacher. She's so much fun.

Favorites of the Festival included:

-Wylde Men show

-The jousting tournament (even though our guy lost)

-chocolate covered strawberries

-the falconer

But most of all...spending time with my son :)