Wow, if ever there was an action-packed month, this was it! Honestly I could break this all up into at least 3 different posts, but in the interest of time I'm going to condense things down. Things aren't quite in the right order, but it will have to do...
Everyday Life
Just the craziness of everyday life is enough to keep us hopping around here. With school, church, preschool co-op, etc there is always something to do.
One of our favorite ways to pass the time is going to the library. There are so many great libraries around the Phoenix valley, sometimes it's hard to pick which one to go to. This particular day we were at Sunrise Mountain Library in Peoria.
Once a week, after dropping Erik off at school, the girls and I head over to Peoria for my Chiropractor appointment. Often there are errands to run when we're done there, but it's early enough that not all the places we need to go are open yet. One way we have filled time is by wandering the mall. This day we were there as the Disney store was opening and Sharli got selected to perform the magic "rites" to put the magic into the store. Sadly, I didn't get a great picture, but she had a marvelous time!
Another favorite at the mall is the pet store, of course! If only all the cute little babies weren't locked away where you can't touch them!
Ethan made the kids' wildest dreams come true by building them a bunk bed. They LOVE it, but they still tend to sleep on the floor as much as they do on their beds. Goof balls!
Maren is just getting too stinkin' smart! She knows our family rule is to hold hands while crossing the road/parking lot. So she found the loop hold and holds her own hand now. I am going to need to be very careful with what I say to this kid!
Maricopa Live Steamers
Every-other Sunday is "Mower Sunday", where we meet up with Nate and Kate (and their crew) for dinner and a few hours of Mower time. It's a fun tradition and we all look forward to it. This particular time we met them at Adobe Dam Regional Park for a free ride on a miniature railway. Put the words "free" and "trains" together and we just can't say no. (Honestly, just say free and we'll probably be there.)
We took a ride around one of the tracks and made a stop at the museum and the model train display. The kids loved getting to watch the tiny trains running around all over, especially the one that looks like Thomas the Tank Engine.
We had so much fun we decided to go for another ride and check out another one of the tracks. We all climbed aboard and pulled out of the station. A moment later it was discovered that a brush fire had started on the property and they had to divert us from our intended route, and we ended up back on the track we'd ridden the first time. It was still fun, but it would have been fun to see some more of the park.
Easter!
Easter time is always so much fun! We kicked off the season by going to the Rand's house for a big Easter party for all our playgroup friends. The kids got to play and hunt for eggs and eat candy, so it was a hit!
We also went to our church Easter breakfast/egg hunt and had a nice time visiting with our friends there. The egg hunt was a little lacking, but it's not like we really needed all that candy anyways. :)
Of course we also made sure we dyed eggs as a family. The kids loved it, and made a HUGE mess. Their hands were multi-color for days.
Of course we also made sure we dyed eggs as a family. The kids loved it, and made a HUGE mess. Their hands were multi-color for days.
Animal Encounters: Rio Salado Audubon Center
With the weather still pretty comfortable outside this time of year we tried to get outside as much as possible. When we heard about the Animal Encounters events at the Audubon Center we knew we wanted to check that out (remember what I said about the word "free"?). It was so fun to explore the park and learn about (and see) some of the birds in our area.
After exploring the gardens and watching the bird show we found a spot for a picnic lunch and then wandered down by the river to see what we could find.
Luke AFB Luke Days!
Probably the most action packed day we had this month was the day we went to Luke Days at the nearby Airforce base. We got to wander around and view SO many aircraft and other vehicles on the ground. The ones we got to climb inside of were our favorite, but they were all super interesting!
In addition to the static displays, there was the constant roar of aircraft over head, everything from WWI bi-planes doing stunts, to WWII aircraft re-enacting decisive battles (complete with fiery explosions!), to modern super-sonic jets shooting straight up into the sky. It was amazing!
We found ourselves seated toward the end of the runway, which was fun because we were right by the staging area where the aircraft lined up for their turn in the air.
When the kids started to get too hot and tired to watch the planes anymore we wandered over to the shade of the STEAM village to enjoy some science, technology, engineering, and math activities. They had great stuff for all ages.
Possibly the kids' favorite part of the whole day was the school bus shuttle ride to and from the parking lot. This truly fulfilled a life long wish for at least one of our kids.
Our playgroup friends all wanted to go back to the Fire Station for another tour before it got too hot in the summertime, so I set up a tour for our group. As the organizer I got there early and we waited outside for our group.
When everyone was there, we went inside and started our tour. We got to see the living quarters and offices, then we headed out to the engine bay. We were about to check out the engine when a fire call came in and they had to leave. :( We knew this was a risk of a station tour, but we were disappointed not to get to have the same experience as the last time.
Diedre and Ethan's Excellent Adventure
While this part of March only lasted for 3 days, it was definitely the most life changing thing we did all month. Ethan got a phone call from the Nevada State AG Department, offering him a job as a wildlife biologist in Carson City. It looked like a really great career move, but having never been to that area we wanted to make sure it was right for our family before accepting the job. We left the kids with Nate and Kate and drove 13 hours (in one day) to Carson City. The first half of the drive is just a lot of boring desert, but (as we went via CA) as soon as we got to the Sierra Nevada mountains it was GORGEOUS! We really enjoyed getting to see all the beautiful new country!
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| Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery |
We spent half a day in and around Carson City, checking out the housing market and getting a feel for the lay of the land. We loved everything we saw and knew that it was our future home. How could it not be with this as the view?
Day 2 of our trip we left Carson City by lunch time and headed through the mountains back down to Las Vegas. We found a hotel to crash at for the night, then went the rest of the way home the next day. We stopped in Payson to pick the kids up from Kett and Cameron (Nate and Kate had dropped them off there that morning) and we all got home by around 10 pm. It ended up being more than 1700 miles in three days. I think we're crazy! The trip had to be quick so Ethan could get back to work, but we were able to see what we wanted to make our decision, so it was worth it.
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