Spring Break 2016: Sunny Arizona!!

Kate also qualified for the Midwest Regional Swim Meet this year in Minneapolis MN.  The meet was on the final weekend of Spring Break this year.  So,  we decided to fly out of MN rather than DSM for our Spring Break getaway to sunny Arizona this year.   We drove up a day early and stayed at a nice Marriot Hotel close to the airport.  Despite being in a pool 4 days a week on swim team,  the kids wanted to swim in the pool as soon as we got to the hotel!! 

It was a beautiful weekend in Minneapolis, so Brett and I relaxed on a nice balcony connected to the pool while the kids swam.  

I remember absolutely LOVING staying in a hotel when I was young, and Kate and Will are exactly the same!  We ordered some take out and watched a movie before hitting the sack to get some zzz's before an early morning flight. 

We decided to re live the good old days and rented a minivan after we landed in Arizona.  The kids approved of our rental choice. 

Johnny and Josh's house is only a 15 minute drive from the airport.  The kids couldn't contain themselves when they rang their doorbell once we arrived!   

Arizona is BEAUTIFUL in March,  but the pools are still a little chilly!  So..... we got the kids each a wetsuit to wear!  

They swam and swam while I laid by the pool and soaked up some sun.

I did some cooking while we were staying at the Bachelor Pad.  We started off each morning with these yummy green smoothies!  Johnny and Josh were a little Leary of them at first, but after a few sips discovered they really liked them!

The kids had fun playing pool.....

being my little cabana boy and misting me when I was a little hot by the pool......

and earning their stay by cleaning the pool!

Spring Training was going on in Scotsdale while we were in town.  Will participated in a little kids game and ran the bases.  

We had pretty good seats AND ran into Tony Laruso while we were walking around.  Brett's had to pick his jaw up from the floor after he realized who we were standing next to!  

Will likes eating all the snacks during the game :)

We took off and did some hiking a few days while we were there.  We hiked "A" Mountain, and "Hole in a Rock."  The kids had a blast on the many adventures.  

Then we would come back to Johnny's and swim some more in the pool. 

And then go into the hot tub for awhile too.  

And then back to the pool :)

Josh and Johnny took us to a really fun BBQ restaurant that had a big slide for the kids.  Will spent his whole night on the slide with all the new friends he made.  I think he sat down to eat with us for maybe 5 minutes....tops.  

Will made a rock family out of some of the Arizona rocks in Johnny's yard.  As you can see, he included our 2 fish and added Nana, Papa, Johnny, and Josh to 1 rock as well. 

We ran around like crazy during our trip.  Will had to catch up on a few zzzz's any time he could.  

Top Golf was on the list of places to visit.  The kids loved hitting the ball and trying to reach the different targets.  

We had nice balcony with comfy couches and yummy food and drinks to enjoy while we hit lots of golf balls.  

The Phoenix Children's Museum was amazing!   We spent an entire day there.  Kate and Will had a great time climbing really really high into the air.  

They obviously don't have a fear of heights.  

We were there on St. Patrick's Day this year, so they had lots of extra fun crafts for the kids to do.  

Will,  Don't eat the play doe. 

Brett had a lot of fun too!

Kate and Will drove through the car wash....

Planted a flower garden...... 

Climbed through low tunnels.....

Climbed through high tunnels.....

Read really good books with Mom.......

And read really good books to Dad........  before we headed back to Casa De Ahsen.  

Our final excursion before the end of our trip was to Tombstone.   We toured the historic little town full of saloons, gift shops, restaurants, and gun shows.  

Will of course had to get a toy gun while he was there.  He loved the cowboy in the background.  

It was a lot of fun seeing the history of Tombstone with my brothers.  

As soon as we got to Casa De Ahsen,  Will was setting up targets to shoot.  It's always a perk having Uncles and a Dad who are really tall that can set up some really challenging shooting targets.  

Will drew this nice picture for Johnny and Josh to keep on their frig to help them remember him FOREVER!!!
It was a great trip!  We can't wait to go back soon!!!!

March 2016: Crazy Hats and Swimming

Our School always brings a little fun to the end of the long winter season with a week of Craziness.  Kate and Will Loved Crazy Hat Day!   

Will found his crown from a bday party a few years ago and had his decision made immediately on what he was going to wear!  He would be "The King"  for a day.  

We also did a little baking...  Puppy Chow to be exact!

Kate made it to State in the 9-10 age Division!  This was a really tough year for her as she was definitely young in her division.   BUT she worked hard and made it in the 100 Breast  and the Medley Relay!!!

Way to Go Katers!!!

Fun Times in February 2016

The baking continued into the month of February.  We started off the month with celebrating a wacky week at school full of fun activities.  So we make our Valley Tiger Orange Cupcakes to add some ymmy-ness to the week. 

They continue to love to wear their aprons whenever they bake.....just like Mom does :)

Wacky Hair Day just might be the favorite day of the week!  We added some hair chalk to each of their heads of hair and followed with LOTS of Hairspray to hold it in as long as possible. 

Kate had really long hair at the time making it quite a bit harder to get the color all the way through.  But we did our best. 

Nana and Papa spent the month of January traveling the west coast.  So we had a belated birthday party for both of them when they returned.  Can't have Papa's birthday party without a custard pie.  

Nana always loves the birthday song with the famous ending from Granny Vevera "And Many More!!"

Brett surprised me on Valentines Day with these lovely tulips!   I say surprised because Brett has always said he was not a fan of buying flowers as "they're just going to die in a few days."   So YES,  I was shocked when he came home with these beauties! 

Kate and Will Loved getting all dressed up for their Valentine's Day Parties.  Kate spent a lot of time on her Valentines Box this year.  So much, that I decided to save it so she can reuse it next year!  

Kate still enjoys having me attend her Valentine's Day Party.
She and her classmates had a lot of fun and I loved watching all of them together.  She has a great group of nice kids in her grade.  They all get along really well :)

Will's class had a great time too!  I had to jump back and forth between Kate's 4th grade room and Will's 1st grade room that day so that I could satisfy both of them! 

Will and his friend Jordyn (the girl in pink to the right of him) are good friends and neighbors.  

Kate and Will continued with private swim lessons with Coach Brooke to work on their strokes.  They both really enjoy the 1 on 1 time with the coach and have made a lot of improvement.  

A little out of order..... but this is the Valentine's day card Kate and Will made for Brett and I!   WOW,  lots of fun compliments are written on all the sticky notes that make up the hot air balloon.  Super creative and sweet of the kids to do this for us! 

Kate and her friend Iverson have had a blast this year at the swim meets together.  They don't go to the same school, so they have to cherish their time together on the weekends to catch up on life and giggle, giggle, giggle.  

Any time the sun was out we were outside.  We have a "Little Free Library" just down the street from us.   Kate and Will love to go and see what new books are in the library.  It is very popular and usually very full of books all the time. 

The new tetherball set is pretty popular in our backyard.  Kate signed up to be the "tetherball ref" at recess at school.  So she knows how to play and how to WIN!!  Poor Will does not have a height advantage in this game against his sister.  But I am sure someday he will tower over her and beat her at this game! 

I am the Fundraising chair at our school this year.  We partnered with our local McDonalds and had our first "McTeacher Night."   Many of our fabulous teachers came out and had dinner with our students and parents.  We had a great turn out and lots and lots of fun! 

One of the highlights of the night was when our principal took the role of calling out the orders numbers as the food was ready.  WOW were the students shocked to hear her voice behind the counter. 

Kate and Will continue to pick "Old McDonalds" whenever they can when we go out to eat. So they were really excited to have dinner at their favorite spot with all of their friends. 

We didn't have school on a Monday in the month of February, so we took that opportunity to go to the Science Center.  It wasn't very busy that day.  The kids had a great time! 

Will's lego car was really good!  He actually won quite a few races against some other boys that were older than him.  That really gave him an ego boost! 

Finally, one of the traveling exhibits was this big green structure of tangled tunnels for the kids to climb in.  It was really tall and confusing.   

But in just a short amount of time, both Kate and Will had it figured out.  

It was a great way to beat the cold weather outside :)