Alan's Birthday

Birthday Party #1- Baskins cake on Saturday afternoon with the boys. Alex thought it would be a good idea to have a cake with balloons on it like he had for his last birthday- how does he remember his cake?!?! That was last June! We celebrated with the boys before ditching them for the evening to head out for sushi. We found a great little hole in the wall in Mesa. Who knew you could find great sushi in Mesa Arizona?



Birthday Party #2- Celebrating with the family at Alan's parents house on Sunday afternoon. Do you think Alex is excited about that cake? It was a great birthday weekend- can't believe Alan is officially on his way towards 40. Life sure does fly by.

Last t-ball game of the season

Swinging, Hitting

Running, Jumping, I did it Dad!

We start soccer in 2 weeks!

This child...

...cracks me up! This first thing I heard/saw this morning was Alex in my face (and in my bed) holding tight to his helmet and asking me to help put it on. I did, hoping he would go play quietly for a while, which he did. By 7:45am, we were on our way out the door to the gym, and I couldn't convince Alex to leave his helmet at home. So he wore it. All day long. To the gym childcare, to his Friday playgroup, to Costco, to lunch with Nana, to 3 different Home Depots (as we searched for the perfect birthday gifts for Alan), to T-ball practice (where he took a big hit in the face, if only he had turned his head the helmet would have taken the hit!) to the park and to a pizza party with Uncle Steve and Aunt Sommer. I love this kid!

Visit from the Clarke's!

Wrestle time!

Jackson and Alex chowing on some cookies.

Jen might kill me for posting this! Alan took Todd and Jen to the office for some teeth bleaching on Saturday afternoon while I watched the kids.

Crazy cousins! These boys had such a great time together! We can't wait to reunite next month in Idaho.

We all went out for Joe's Bar-b-que in Old Town Gilbert Saturday night.

Our marathon of visitors continues!! (By the way, we love it!! It's honestly one of the greatest things about living in Arizona!! Who is coming next??) My brother Todd and his family visited this weekend from southern California. They have 2 boys as well (plus a baby girl-Savannah)! We had such a great time!! Our boys are great playmates so it was non-stop fun all weekend. It was hard to say goodbye this morning but we will see them again in only a month for a mini-Clarke reunion in Twin Falls and Park City. We can't wait!

UCLA vs. ASU

Alan was given 9th row tickets to the game last Thursday- he felt very conflicted as to who he should be rooting for. It was an awesome game, we stayed until the bitter end. As we were walking out with the crowd, Alan and I were discussing the last few minutes where the game really could have gone either way. Alex interrupted us with "Do you what my favorite part was? The part where I was sleeping." He literally slept through half of the game! Not going to be the biggest sports fan in our family, I guess. Will on the other hand was captivated- he sat up in his chair and watched the players move up and down the court intently- he loved it. I noticed the awesome "Welcome to Hell" sign in the ASU student section and couldn't help but post it here. See, even people who LIVE here call it hell.

My early morning Valentine

All 3 of my Valentines were up early this morning... one to go to work, and the other two because they are still on Guatemala time. We are currently in recovery mode- there is so much to do today to pull our life back together after our trip! So glad I planned ahead and hired a babysitter before I left, so Alan and I can actually celebrate tonight. Happy Valentine's Day!

Having so much fun!

Our trip to Guatemala has been great so far! Alex keeps commenting that we should "stay here a long time." I agree! My dad's life is busy and demanding, but my mom's is pretty chill and I know she is happy to have the company, and we are happy to provide it!! The boys did so well on the plane, especially since we had a layover in Dallas and had a chance to re-connect with some of our Texas friends! The boys had a great time stretching their legs and catching up with their buddies. I lost track of time and was in a hurry as we said goodbye, since the boys and I had to go back through security and catch a tram to the international terminal to catch our next flight. As we were rushing, I noticed Alex making heavy "sighing" noises and I asked him what was wrong. He said, "I just NEVER get to play with those Texas friends anymore." His little eyes were brimming with tears, and so were mine. We love our friends in Texas, and miss them so much.
My mom and I were shocked to find this "Bob-the-builder" cookie at the bakery down the street from her house (Will's was Elmo.) How do they know about Bob in Guatemala?? I still can't figure it out. We thought we were getting this great deal at 50 cents a cookie, but as we were walking home we realized we paid $6.00/cookie! Whoops. Oh-well, both boys were so pleased with their treat. I always struggle with the "math-on-demand" that you must do when spending money in a country that uses a different currency.
Getting ready to swim in the pool at Grandma's house!
At the Guatemala City Zoo. This was the most incredible zoo I have ever been too! It is so clean and well-maintained, and all of the animals are super close (which is probably dangerous but who cares? The boys loved it and we made it through without incident!)
The highlight from the visit to the zoo- the roller coaster! First of all, if we were in the US I'm sure no child under age six would be allowed on this ride. But here in Guatemala- no such rules exist! Will sat on my lap and after we rode it for the second time, screamed and cried and threw an absolute FIT that we had to leave.

So much going on!

There has been so much going on! The Hinze family from Dallas has been in town this week and we had so much fun reconnecting with them! We only wish we could have spent more time together. Rod's entire family lives in Arizona so they had a busy schedule but still made time for us. The highlight was the over three-hour long lunch Jen and I were able to have, with only baby Will to join us. I miss her so much and am so glad that she has has family here and will be visiting often! Another plus to being in Arizona. I think their visit concludes the marathon of visitors we've had this month. We've loved it- so come visit, before it gets too hot!
Friday night Alan's brother Steve came over to make his incredible chicken parmesan and to continue our Rocky marathon. Since we all saw the new Rocky over Christmas, we have been wanting to re-watch the entire series. My brother's would be proud to hear me quoting the most famous lines, right along with Sylvester Stalone (I swear the three of them can recite the entire series word for word, with Rocky V being the exception- what happened with that movie?!) Saturday started early with T-ball. Afterwards we ran over the primary party that was being held in the middle of Gilbert on this incredible farm. There were so many fun activities for the kids-- the boys especially enjoyed riding the horse!
We've been trying to get ready for Guatemala in the midst of all of this... the boys and I leave on Tuesday! Wish me luck on the flight!!