Spring trip to Utah/Idaho

**These pictures are all out of order, and I can't figure out how to fix it- oh well. **

At the top of Park City mountain.

Nate, mom, Brandon, Debbie, Christie, Alan

Gathered around my Grandparents kitchen table with cousins.
On the "Green Swing"- there isn't a more peaceful place on earth. I love that farm!
Will at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.
Alex swimming with Grandma in Kamas. Everyone had so much fun!
Everyone gathered at my Grandmother's birthday party. You will find Alex on the front row with, oh yes, his finger up his nose. That's my boy. At least he was willing to be photographed. That is not a small accomplishment.

On the way to Twin Falls- our regular stop at Maddox's Drive-in. Nothing can beat their Oreo shake. I think my dad was hungry for some American food after being in Guatemala for so long!
Most of my family gathered in Twin for lunch.
My sweet Grandmother- Elizabeth Jackson.
Having snacks with cousins at the party. The boys LOVE being around their cousins!
Shooting hoops with Uncle Nate- who always steps in to help me when Alan isn't around.

So the parents made their way home from Guatemala for General Conference and the family, of course, gathered during their visit! The boys and I went for 10 days and it wasn't long enough. There are few things I love more than escaping my daily life every few months, and an escape this was! When we go off the plane the family was already loaded up and ready to head to Twin Falls, Idaho for my grandmother Jackson's 90th birthday celebration. After spending the weekend in Twin, we went back to Utah and spent the next week in Park City. My organized mom had the week planned with fun outings and had even booked babysitters so the adults could spend some time without the kiddos! Alan flew up for the ski day and stayed the weekend to go to conference. It was a great trip and we came home exhausted and so sad that it's over.

Lunch date with Alan

Alan was working in Mesa today so we met him in "downtown historic Mesa," which sounds so hilarious but is actually becoming a very cute little area! There are some non-chain little lunch spots like the one we hit today- Sweet Cakes, which was so yummy! The Arizona Museum for Youth in the same neighborhood, so after saying goodbye to Daddy the boys and I hit the play area for a few hours. Now we are exhausted and headed for bed. The heat really wears you out! So does hanging out with Will for any extended amount of time. Which reminds me of a comment Alan made yesterday, that I must record her for posterities sake. I reminded him that the Father and Son's camp-out is coming up next month (about which I am so excited!! I will have an entire 24 hours all to myself. I'm honestly already making lists of ideas of what I want to do with my break!) He looked at me and said, "Isn't it a Father and Son camp-out?" The tone of his voice said it all. Taking both boys camping will be no small task, but I made sure to inform him that as his son, Will is entitled to a spot in the tent. It's part of his birthright to be able to go on the annual trek, and go he will. I will make sure of that!

Our First ER Visit

Oh, my. I was just trying to be a good mom, reaching for the puzzle bin that sits on the top shelf of Alex's closet. Alan was at a meeting, boys and I were having a quiet Sunday morning reading and playing together. Unfortunately, the boys guitar was on top of the bin I reached for, and it came crashing at just the right angle to slice open a big bruise Alex already had on his forehead. There was blood everywhere. He was so brave. I put him up on the counter in the bathroom while I tried frantically to get a hold of Alan, who finally arrive home to find Alex comforting me! He kept saying, "I'll help you feel better Mommy, don't worry! It's OK mommy!" The poor child was covered in blood, as was Rover, Alex's ever-present side-kick. We made our way to the ER (against Alan's will, I might add. He honestly wanted to go pick up some super glue from Walmart and just take care of it himself.) They suggested stitches, but Alan convinced them--to guess what? Just super-glue it back together. Less scaring, less painful, just as, if not more, effective. By the end of our ER visit, Alex had the story of what had happened to him down-pat. We will have to get it on video, it makes a great story. I'm so glad my little man is okay.

Day-trip to Tucson

Wrestling with the Curtis' cousins!

Will, Caroline, Grace

Alex adores his older boy cousins.

Waiting for the train-ride at the park.

It's spring break! So yesterday Caroline and I loaded up the kids (her 4 and my 2) and took them all to Tucson. Alan's oldest brother and his family are the only Curtis' who don't live in the Phoenix area, so we don't see them as much as we would like to. It was the perfect day to spend with them! We had a picnic, fed the ducks , played at the playground, and went to the Tucson Zoo. Besides the fact that it was 97 DEGREES, it was a great day.
***By the way, summer has arrived. The a/c is now on full-blast, and I am trying to gracefully brace myself for the next 7 months. I honestly don't know how I will get through it.

Oh the multi-tasking....

...that goes on around this house. Daddy needs to work, child wants to play, how do you resolve this problem? Alan's solution: allow child to use his head as toy drum while sitting on shoulders, and continue to work. Problem solved, everyone's happy!

Friday Night Date Night

We took the boys along on "date night" tonight to our local Ben and Jerry's- yes, only down the street from our house! How dangerous is that? It's the coolest little shop, with big old couches and comfy chairs all over and an old school television (the kind that is encased in wood) with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory playing for our viewing pleasure. They also had this vintage Ms. Pack-Man game that Alan taught Alex how to play- he was loving it (as you can see in the photo!)

My Little Tiger

Alex showing off his tiger face he made at preschool this week. He was wearing orange by total coincidence!

Cousin Grace turns 2!

The birthday girl and her mom, Caroline (Alan's sister). You can also barely see the tip of baby Brooke's head!

My little man in motion- I love this picture! It displays Will's personality so well- he never stops!

Alex buried himself in the foam blocks.

Today was Grace's 2nd birthday! She had her party at Rolie Polie's- this great indoor play area that has all kinds of kid friendly play equipment- the kids had a ball! Afterwards we headed to the park for a picnic lunch, presents and cupcakes. Will is so exhausted from all of the fun he is currently asleep in his crib, still covered in sweat (it is so hot here today!), sand and icing. Happy Birthday Grace!

It's all about Alex lately

Another Alex moment: While I was making dinner this evening Alex found his way into the fridge, pulled out the orange juice, handed it to me and said, "Can you open this? I wanna drink it like my daddy do's it."

Alex Moments

Two great ones this last week:
1. Will, Alex and I are driving home from the gym one morning last week. Our primary chorister had made a cd of the songs for 2007 for all of the children, and we were listening to "I'll Follow Him in Faith." As the song ends, Alex says, "Mom, I think we need to turn the time over to Sister Chipman."
2. Yesterday morning he crawls into bed with me, and says, "Good Morning mommy! How did you get so stinkin' cute??"
Love this kid. Love, love, love him. He absolutely improves my life and my mood on a daily basis.

**picture taken 2 weeks ago while working on his rollerblading skills with his dad.

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!!