Arizona Science Center

On Monday (one of Robert's days off) we all went to the science center in Phoenix. It was really neat. I love stuff like this. They had all kinds of things you can see and do. On the first floor, there was a stage you could stand on and watch a weather simulator. When it was a tornado or hurricane, there would be a really strong fan blowing on you. They had lightening, thunder, and a little misting for rain. My favorite, though, was the earthquake. Craig loved that part, too. Here are some pictures of only a few of the things we did there.

This one you just stand and spin. Craig loved it, until he got off and couldn't stand up straight. He just leaned against the side bars with his eyes closed and yelled, "Mama!" I had to hold him until he regained his balance.

Here am I on a bed of nails. Well, they were pretty big nails and not very sharp, but uncomfortable nonetheless. There's another one checked off my bucket list! :)

By the way, Ethan was there, too, but I forgot to get a picture of him and Craig while they were playing in the little kids area. Most of the time he spent happily eating graham crackers in the stroller.

A little adventure

Robert and Craig were hanging out on the patio tonight, waiting for a storm to roll in, when Ethan and I joined them to see what they were up to. I had left the door open and on our way back to the door, we walked under the arbor that houses two birds' nests. I wrote about them here (you'll have to scroll down in the post a little to find the picture of the nests). I thought I felt something hit my shoulder, but I saw a bird fly out of the nest out of the corner of my eye, so I just figured it was a little stick or something he knocked out with his hasty departure. We came in, I put Ethan down to bed, and on my way back down the stairs, I noticed the cat sitting on the landing, staring straight up at the little window about fifteen feet up the wall in our stairwell (if that makes sense).

I looked up to see what she was so focused on and saw this (this picture was taken from the top of the stairs):

So the thing that had hit my shoulder wasn't a stick the bird had knocked loose, but the bird itself as it flew into the house! I called Robert over and we stared at it for a minute, trying to think how on earth we were going to get it out of here since it was so high up and we had no way of catching it...or so we thought. I decided to see if there was a 24 hour animal control number and see if they had any ideas on what to do. The only number I could find was the non-emergency fire department number. Remembering the days of my childhood when my dad (a 25 year retired 911 dispatcher) would come home from work and tell us all the stories of the strange phone calls he got and the funny things the fire fighters would do for people, I figured my call would seem somewhat normal to them and maybe they could give me some pointers. I NEVER expected this:

Dad, I'm sure you're not surprised, but we sure were! The dispatcher told me that he would just send a truck out. It would be something for the guys to get out and do, he said. :) So, these four firemen showed up. I thought they would bring a net or a bird catching device or something...I don't know what they do. But nope. You'll never guess what they did. They used our blanket and broom, scared it into a bathroom, one guy closed himself in with it and caught it in a towel. Then they let it go outside. Here we thought we had no way of getting the thing out ourselves, and these guys came in and proved us wrong. After, I kind of felt silly about calling them. But not silly enough to not go out and take a picture of their truck. I was this close to asking them for a picture with...I mean OF the firemen themselves. Let me just say, what they say about firemen is true. There's a reason they make calendars. I wonder if they've done one here....Don't tell Robert I said that. :)

One really good thing about tonight, if our house ever caught on fire, I know we'd be okay. The response time was something like 2 minutes...and they weren't even in a hurry!

Not Stroganoff

As I was eating dinner tonight, I was thinking how much I loved this meal. It's easy, versatile, cheap, and so tasty. I realized I hadn't shared any recipes lately, so I thought I would throw this up here. Many of you might have something similar in your cookbooks or recipes from your mom...it's not completely, totally original. But this rendition started off several years ago. One night, Robert was craving stroganoff. I don't recall ever making real stroganoff before, so I don't know exactly how this is different. I think stroganoff usually uses beef strips and gravy where this is ground beef and a creamy sauce. Anyway, that night when Robert got his craving, we rummaged through the cupboards and came up with the ancestor to what I made tonight (and what I make at least once or twice a month). Without further ado, here's the recipe for what we still refer to as "Stroganoff" even though it's not.

Not Stroganoff

1 large bag of egg noodles
1 medium onion* diced
3 cloves of garlic* minced
1 lb. ground beef
1 26 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1 medium bag frozen broccoli
Salt
Pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin (opt.)

In a large pot, boil enough water for all of the egg noodles. Sprinkle in about 1 tsp. salt. Add noodles and cook until done. Drain, set aside, and return pot to stove. Drizzle in about 1 Tbsp. olive oil (or whatever oil, butter, or margarine you have) and heat pot to medium-high. Once hot, add onions and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add ground beef and brown. Add the whole can of cream of mushroom soup and mix. Pour in milk. Season with salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and any other seasonings you like to taste. Experiment! The consistency should be about the same as a cream soup. Not watery at all...like chowder. Sometimes, if I have it, I'll add cream, sour cream, cream cheese, ricotta, Parmesan, or even a cup of shredded cheese and then more milk if I need to stretch the recipe further. Just make sure you had more seasoning, too. Make sure it has plenty of salt and pepper. If you like spice, cayenne pepper is better than chili powder for this, but use what you got. Add in frozen broccoli and bring to a simmer. Add in noodles and mix well. And you're done!

*If you don't think you can dice the onion small enough to fool your most discerning eater, just use extra onion powder. Also, if you don't have fresh garlic or don't like it, just use extra garlic powder, too. The key is to make sure this is well seasoned.
**Another variation is to pour this into a 9x13 pan, top with lots of shredded cheese and bake until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Or mix 1/2 and 1/2 Italian bread crumbs with Parmesan, sprinkle on top, dot with butter, and bake until golden brown. The possibilities are endless!

By the way, I added this up and if you get your ground beef on sale (I try to not pay over $2 a pound for it) and get the generic brand for everything else, you can spend less than $10 on this whole meal and it could easily feed an average sized family of six (maybe not all boys, but you know what I mean).

Heat Wave

Lately we've been having one of our legendary heat waves out here in the Valley of the Sun. Today it got at least to 115, but our thermometer outside is in a shaded area against the house, so it is always about two degrees or so cooler than the actual temperature. We don't go out in the afternoon anymore. However, a couple days ago it was "normal" for this time of year, which is still hotter than I like to be outside in. Craig, on the other hand, seems born for the heat (but ironically he was born in Montana). He begged me to go outside a few days ago so I let him. I thought he'd be back in within five minutes, but he spent a good 20 minutes out there playing. Here's him outside (my proof):

And here's the thermometer reading (the upper right is the outside temp):

Crazy little boy! Of course, I made sure he drank plenty of water when he came in, but I still couldn't believe he wasn't very bothered by the heat.

I do love a sultry summer night, though.

Brag-about-my-kids Day (cont.)

Yesterday I was going to do a post about Craig and Ethan, but I only got as far as Craig before I had to shut down due to a storm rolling in. It turned out to not be very big, but it was fun. I let Craig go outside to play in the rain. It was actually cool and breezy (what a relief!) so he got on his little trike and road it down the little hill in front of our house, splashing through a puddle on his way. It was one of those moments I wished I had the camera. :)

However, this post is about Ethan and the little things about him that make me smile. He is getting to be one fast little crawler. And he's "cruising" now along the furniture and trying to stand up on his own. It's so funny to me because he's still fairly small for his age so he looks like this tiny baby who's not old enough to be doing all these things yet. Because of his size, I also forget he's starting to be able to handle more real food and less pureed stuff. The other day I gave him a strawberry and he was so cute taking bites out of it and making mess, I had to take some pictures.

He handled it, and many others after it, like a pro! He's 10 months now, and I'm truly flabbergasted. I'm afraid of missing his babyhood. I guess that's why I am doing this post. I want to document him and his growth better than I have been. He continues to be the sweetheart of the house. He's so easy going and easy to read. If he's fussy, it means he needs a nap or a snack. Anything will do, too. Cheerios, graham crackers, bread, fruit...he doesn't care. Even if he's tired, it's easy to distract him if I can't put him down right away. We've just recently transitioned to two naps (yay!) so for about a week it was really hard for him to last between naps, but when I had to push him, he was a trooper. Even when he cries, it's like a sad sound than an actual cry. As I'm struggling with Craig through his "twos," I keep looking at Ethan and wondering if he'll be like this. Somehow, I don't think so. Of course, I'm sure he'll have his tantrums and his moments of testing the limits, but I don't think he'll be as intense and dramatic as Craig. And hopefully not as persistent. We'll see, I could be eating my words.

Yep, Ethan is almost a perfect baby and I am so happy to have him. The last thing I want to brag about him is probably one of my favorite things about him. His poop doesn't even stink. Not really. I'm serious. I usually don't know he's poopy until I change his diaper and even then I can barely smell anything. I just throw his diapers into the regular trash, too, and don't have to go out to the diaper bin in the garage. How did I get so lucky?

My cute little Strawberry-face.

Brag-about-my-kids Day

Lately I have been thinking of so many things I am grateful for about Craig and Ethan so I decided to take some pictures and tell you about them. These are just a couple things, but everyday there are so many things that come up, I could never list them all.
(Side note: the first monsoon of the season is brewing outside...the wind's a-blowin' and it just started raining a bit. I'm excited!)

I'm considering writing to LG and telling them how much I love my washer and dryer--they're so easy, even a 2 year old can do it! Literally. I've taught Craig how to load the washer and dryer, turn it on, select the right wash load, and start it. He just needs me to put the soap in and I have to direct him on what clothes go where (washer or dryer). The best part is, he loves it! I'll be making dinner and if I tell him to take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer and then point it out so he really understands, he does it! I rarely have to bend over anymore to load and unload the washer and dryer. He really is such a big help and I only wish he could truly understand how much I appreciate it.

I made another great investment when I bought this little contraption that he's using right here:

Originally I just got it to use on the stairs, but he's taken to it like his own personal vacuum. In this picture, he had spilled some tortilla chip pieces from the bottom of the bag so I gave him the vacuum and he cleaned them all up all by himself! And then he chased the cat around the house with it. (It's functional AND fun!)

I have more the share about Ethan, but this storm is really picking up and I'd better turn off the computer and grab a flashlight just in case. I really hope the power doesn't go off. That would really stink. Again.

Coupons!

With a possible weekend getaway looming, a few projects I want to get done, and some bills that are still backed up from our move, I've decided to delve into the whole couponing thing to save some money. I wanted to share with you all my first AWESOME deal. There are many more on the horizon. Yesterday, I got two tubes of Colgate Total toothpaste for $.25 each! I've also added up my receipts for this pay period's food/necessities and have only spent about $35. I anticipate possibly spending only about $15 more for a few things I forgot to buy yesterday, but I feel really good about that. Normally, I spend roughly $450 a month on food and everything, including diapers, t.p., soaps, and other necessities so to spend only $50 in one two week period feels so good. I also know that the longer you're into this, the more coupons you have, the better your system gets, and the more money you save. I'm REALLY excited!

If you want to know where I learned about doing this and the basic things I did to get started, just ask!

I'm tired of seeing that icky scorpion at the top of my home page

A self portrait ala Craig

I love the toothless smiles. :)

I really don't have anything new to post, but I can't stand seeing that picture of our "intruder" anymore. So, here are some pictures, just so you don't get bored. And a story, to hopefully make this post seem worthwhile.

This morning at about 3:40, Ethan woke up to be fed. I don't like going in much before 4:00 (otherwise he wakes up for the day too early and it throws off his nap times) so I laid in bed and let him fuss a little before I went in. The power went off around 3:50, so I got up and fed him anyway, checking the neighbors' lights out the window on my way. Their power was still on . Hmmm, maybe we had a blown fuse. I woke Robert up and he went out and checked the fuse, but those seemed fine. I called the power company and apparently we are on a different grid than our neighbors and they were working on something down the road. It would be back on by 6:00, they said. My air conditioning concerns were alleviated (it's about 85-90 degrees at night) but then I realized a much greater problem: the humidifiers. Both Craig and Ethan have humidifiers in their rooms for several reasons: humidfying (it's just healthy, they say), a little bit of a night light if I have to go in and check on them, and white noise. Their rooms are really close but with the humidifier on, you really can't hear a thing in the other room. It's a life saver during Ethan's naps when Craig is playing with all his most obnoxious toys in his room, but their dependence on them was the bane of my existence last night (or this morning, rather). Craig woke up around 4:30 and when he realized there was no faint orange glow and no constant humming, he freaked. Craig was determined to not go back to sleep. Did I mention that last night was the once-a-year-time I went to bed at midnight? I soon realized I would have to get up with Craig. He was waking Ethan up since Ethan had no white noise to drown him out. At this point, I had a total of three and a half hours of sleep. I let Robert sleep until 9:00, and then we switched. I slept and he babysat. I'm exhausted now and don't know why I'm writing this at 11:00pm! I'm going to bed.

Yum! and Ewww

I made apple pie yesterday because I had a bunch of apples and I felt like it. It turned out really well. It's a dutch apple pie. Here's a picture:


In unrelated news, I found this on the wall in our bathroom this morning:

We've lived in Arizona for just over a year and this is the first one we've encountered. It was a pretty big one, too. Now, for the next several months, my psyche it going to make me check every wall, corner, cupboard, closet, shelf, and stairway for these science fiction-ish buggers every second of every day.

P.S. Robert was in the shower, so I waited for him to get out so he could take care of it. He hates the things just as much as I do, but I played the "You're the big, strong man" card and it worked. What a guy!

Father's Day

Today I'm getting caught up on my blogging so there are a few posts here. Be sure to scroll down. I don't have any pictures for this first one...Father's Day. Other than going to church, we spent most of the day in pajamas (or for some of us they're "g's") so I didn't take any pictures. We played it pretty low key since the first half of the year we have lots of things to celebrate (Valentine's Day, birthdays, Mother's Day, anniversary, etc.) and it gets hard thinking of presents and having the money for them. So I just got him a tie and made him a little picture collage of the boys and myself for him to keep in his wallet since he doesn't have any pictures of us. For dinner, we had one of his favorites: Stouffer's Lasagna. It's easy for me, which I love on a Sunday. On Saturday I had made him his cake that he requested, a red velvet with raspberry filling and cream cheese icing. We had that on Sunday, too. Robert took a three hour nap, which I had promised I would do everything in my power to let him sleep. It was a good, relaxing day. He's been working a lot of really long hours lately (e.g. 8am to 10pm) so he needed it.

Sunday mornings

Last Sunday, I was racing around trying to get myself and the boys showered, dressed, and ready for church by 8:30. It's usually a bit challenging, but Craig didn't help matters. I got him out of the shower and asked him to go to his room and get his lotion and a diaper, which we keep in the bottom drawer of his dresser. It was taking him quite a while, so I went to check on him and found this:


The little stinker was very busy taking out his drawers, dumping their contents into one big pile, and making a "train" on the floor with the drawers. Notice that everything is out of the drawers, except the two things I asked for...a diaper and his lotion container. I laughed to keep from crying and took a picture to commemorate my victory (remember, he had just gotten out of the shower so he was totally naked still).

Oh, and his church clothes were in the first drawer to be dumped and therefore at the bottom of the pile.

Saguaro Lake

Last week I was telling Robert that we hadn't done much all together as a family in a while. Something fun...an activity. So for Family Home Evening, we went to a lake that's only about 10 miles up the highway called Saguaro Lake. We only went to see it and drive around a little, but it was fun to go for a drive and see some of the scenery around here.

Craig is saying, "C'mon Mom! Mom, c'mon. C'mon. S'go (let's go)."

My boys. :)

We were trying to get a good picture of the rainbow-colored wind-surfer's sail, but we did get a good picture of the lake and hills. For being over 100 degrees, there were quite a few people out boating/fishing/hiking/swimming.

Back when it was my birthday...

...Robert and I went to that dinner theater I told you all about back then. A picture I took that night just arrived in my email this morning. I had tried to send it from his phone that night but I guess it didn't work for some reason. I had forgotten all about it and I have no idea why it took 6 weeks to get here, but here it is, none the less. It's pretty cool so I decided to blog about it anyway. Let me explain the picture first. They (the dinner theater people) told us to arrive at 5:30, so we did. However, the play didn't start until 7:00. It took us about 15 minutes to eat and then we had A LOT of time to kill. So we did what any of you would do after the conversation topics ran out (10 minutes later), we built things using the coffee creamers. This one was my favorite. Even our waiter took a picture with his phone.

It stood for a good half hour, too.

Well, good night all. It's late and I'm tired. I hope I didn't waste your time with this. Next time you go out to eat, see what you can do with coffee creamers and blog about it. I dare you. Actually, it would make me feel validated if someone actually did. :)

Shake, shake

This morning as I got out of the shower, Craig stood in the doorway and said, "Shake, shake." I wasn't sure what he was talking about until he interrupted my drying off routine by patting my behind and repeating, "shake shake." Thanks Craig. Your honesty leaves me speechless.

Here are a few more of the pictures I've been taking over the last month. I LOVE this one of Ethan. I was trying to take a picture of him but he kept crawling all over trying to get the camera. I love the pure interest in his eyes.

Craig has really taken to water of all kinds. Some days I can put him in our bath tub, give him some toys and the shower head, and he'll be occupied for close to an hour. The water will get cold, but he doesn't seem to mind. It doesn't always work, but when it does I get a lot of homework done. This picture is of him playing in the bath and it also showcases another of Ethan's new skills: pulling up to standing. He's started to try to stand without support and he's "cruised" a little, too. I just can't believe it. His babyhood is flying by. Craig seemed to go a lot slower, and that was fine by me.

Here are two of Craig's self portraits that I found on the camera when I went to download these pictures. I also found several lens-cap-still-on pictures and about a hundred of the wall and ceiling.

This one actually has some really good contrast to it. If only it were a more interesting subject.

I guess if this is what my "shake shake" has produced, then I'm not complaining. I think I've got two of the best boys out there and I would never trade my former body for them. Most days, that is. :)

Just a quick one

I am still resetting my routine and doing the finishing touches on our new place, but I felt obligated to do a quick post since it's been so long. I feel like it takes me longer than normal to get back into the swing of things after moving. There have been a lot of things going on with us, so I have a lot I want to share with you all. For now, though, I've chosen just a couple. First of all, the week we were moving, Ethan started the army crawl thing and then within the next week and a half, he officially started crawling. So here he is:

I find him all over the place now. He loves it and so does Craig. Craig and I play this chase game called "Har har" (wink wink Laura) where I crawl after him and he runs away and screams. It's not complicated...it just has a funny name. Now Craig pretends like Ethan is chasing him. Craig runs back and forth screaming. Ethan follows him everywhere anyway, so he's playing along and doesn't even know it. When Ethan's asleep, Craig with pester me saying, "Where's Ethan? Har har?" I did find Ethan this morning on the bottom landing of the stairway--he had climbed four steps! I didn't even know he could do that. Here we go again. Didn't we just pass this phase? Ethan is just as smiley and sweet as ever.

Craig has made the transition to a big boy bed. He's done great and doesn't even realize he can get out of bed without me telling him it's time to get up. Here he is:

His crib was getting really wobbly--one too many moves I guess. Plus he's over 35 lbs. and he's about 36 inches tall. He's a big boy. And a cute boy. :)

On our downstairs patio we have this arbor:

One day I found this in it:

It's a nest with three baby birds in it. You can kind of see them here, but I didn't want to get any closer--they were kind freaking out already. I just thought it was really cool. They still use it a lot, even though we moved in. We don't use the front door very often so I guess they've decided to stay.

I'm back!

I'm here, but still unpacking and cleaning the old place, and doing homework, and being Mommy, and...

I'll get back to you all later.

Till We Meet Again

I am officially signing of/unplugging until we get to the new place. See you on the other side.

Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

Some new stuff

Things going on with us:
*We're moving! This has been planned for a month now and we'd been thinking about for a while before that, but I just realized that I never talked about on the blog. We're packing up the truck Monday night and unpacking at the new place on Tuesday. We're moving to a town called Fountain Hills, just about 20 minutes away from here. We'll be A LOT closer to Robert's work and we found an awesome three-bedroom place with tons of square feet and storage. Some interesting things about this move so far:
- I've already packed everything but the kitchen!
- I went dumpster diving for boxes yesterday
- I found a dead cat in a box while dumpster diving
- I've done my "spring cleaning"...and that feels good
- I can't believe we've been here a year already

*Speaking of things I can't believe: Ethan's mobile! He'll be nine months old at the end of May. Wow. Just this week he started the "army crawl" and gets around pretty well that way. Pretty soon he'll be off his belly for good. He does get up on his knees sometimes. He's starting to try and find me if he knows I'm just in the next room. I'll hear him fuss and find him halfway down the hall. Here are some pictures of "Scooter" (as I've been calling him this week) since I don't feel like I post enough pictures of him.


*We're also all recovering from something similar to what being hit by a train feels like (from what I hear). Craig started with a 104 degree fever two Sundays ago. He had an ear infection. A cough developed by Tuesday and he spread that to Ethan and I. Robert never had recovered properly from a sinus infection and with Craig's virus, he was hit pretty hard and had to take a day off of work. I took Craig and Ethan in for a check up a week ago and Ethan had an ear infection, too. Craig was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and put on breathing treatments. Here he is, poor little guy.

He was really good about it. What a trooper. I still have a lingering cough and Ethan is still on his antibiotic until Sunday, but all-in-all we're much better.

*So, I've been thinking about doing something for a while now. It's a pretty big expense, but I've really wanted them for months and Robert finally gave me the go-ahead. Now that they're installed, he's pretty happy about them, too. He calls them "The Twins." They're the nice, big kind. Anyway, here they are!

Ta da! Do you like them? I can fit our king-size comforter in them! I am SO excited!

(What? What did you think I was talking about?)

Happy Mother's Day...to all you "momsters" out there

If you'd like to join the "I Look Like a Scary Monster From a Child's Perspective" club, then buy your two-year-old a disposable camera and let him take all the pictures.

"Fe-fi-fo-fum!"

The following was passed to all the mothers today at church. I thought it was so cute.

Why God Made Moms
Answers given by 2nd graders:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world...and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.
What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
2. They say she used to be nice.
What did mom need to know about dad before marrying him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your mother perfect?
1. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

This last picture I thought was funny, so I threw it in. Another picture from Craig's portfolio. He calls it "The Grandson-Eating Grandmother."

"Mmmmm"

Our birthday weekend and some Nunsense

Last week my parents came to visit for Craig's and my birthday. They showed up on Wednesday and left on Sunday. We had a lot of fun and had been anticipating their arrival for months! On Thursday we took them out to Fountain Hills to show them our new place (we're moving out there the week after next, but that's another post) and then went to visit Robert at work. We had a very nice dinner at the golf course to round out the day.

Friday was our birthday! We went to Bass Pro Shop in the morning where they sell one of my favorite brands of clothes, Columbia. The guys got to walk around and look at guy stuff, while my mom and I shopped for my birthday present from her: a pair of capris and a matching shirt. :) Then we had lunch, cake, and presents. Robert got me a new candle/wall hanging thing for our new place. I can't wait to hang it up!

We got Craig a bike/tricycle (which he loves but I forgot to get a picture of) and a little disposable camera. Once he figured out how to take pictures, he loved. I am going to pick up the pictures today, so I will post my favorite of the Craig pictures later.

Here's Craig with the bowling set my parents gave him. They also got him a cute new outfit. He also got a little beanie baby penguin from his great-aunt Nancie (Happy Feet is one of his favorite movies--he calls it "Pendin").

Our neighbor, Kristian, has 7-year-old son named Cody who Craig loves playing with. He'll see him across the chapel at church and yell, "Cody!" before I can stop him. Cody has a Tonka truck he sits on and rides down the hill in front of our houses, so they got one for Craig, too! Here they are riding down the hill together in their trucks.

Way back in September, my mom and Robert went in together to buy me tickets to a dinner theater just down the road to celebrate Ethan being born. When I looked at their plays this season, the one that Robert and I both wanted to see what called:

It happened to be playing through April, so I scheduled it on my birthday! So on Friday night my parents babysat and we went to have dinner and see the play. It was hilarious! We had a lot of fun and I want to make going to a play a tradition for my birthday every year. This was one of my favorite birthdays so far!

Saturday was our last day together so we decided to go to an airplane museum not far from our house. Robert and I have been wanting to go and my dad loves airplanes, so we went. It's called Falcon Field. They had an old WWII airplane we got to walk/crouch/shimmy through.
Here I am coming out with Craig. He was kind of scared of it, but he managed.

They also had this cute little airplane for kids to sit in. I had a hard time getting Craig out of it.

He was actually pretty cranky all that day and we kept thinking he turned 2 and decided he was going to be as "terrible" as possible. However, when he woke up with a fever of 104 on Sunday and I took him to Urgent Care, we discovered the poor kid was suffering from an ear infection. :( Probably felt crummy for a couple of days and we had no idea.

Craig passed his cold on to the rest of us, including my parents, and we're still recuperating, but all in all we had a great time and a great birthday! I'm looking forward to see what the year of my 20's has in store for me.

Oh, and here's the obligatory picture of our sweet, calm, quiet little Ethan:

I forgot to mention that Robert also brought me flowers (roses and mini cala lilies which are my favorite) and on Friday my brother had some delivered to me! It was my first time getting flowers delivered, and they are beautiful--thanks Scott!

Shhhhh!

The other day I was playing with Craig and Ethan and mentioned to Craig that he had 5 minutes before I was going to put the two of them down for naps. I thought he was ignoring me until I looked over at him as he was crouched over what looked like just a balled up shirt on the floor. He looked up at me, put his finger to his lips and went, "Shhhhh." This is what I found:


He's such cute boy! I was also surprised that he was listening to me!