Not quite the Welcome Home we wanted...

I will do a post of our trip to Colorado once I get all the pictures figured out but I had to post this picture. When we got home from being in the car for 2 days all we wanted was to unload the car & go swimming. We turned the corner to our apartment building to see 6 cop cars, a guy being arrested and this policeman standing with his sniper gun in the middle of the parking lot. I rolled the window down & asked him if it was okay to go into our apartment and he said yes. David asked him if we could get a picture of him with the girls & he was a good sport & let us. Some guy had tried to rob a pizza guy with a pellet gun & they chased him into our parking lot. Welcome home to Arizona. I thought I lived in Scottsdale, not Phoenix :)

Birthday Parties

We have been to many a birthday parties since we moved here & they have all been so much fun. Zhara & Alyssa got to go to their first "all girl" birthday party. They had so much fun & no one got hurt :) If I were to live in AZ forever I would invest in one of these!

Mother's Day Weekend

Last Friday we drove up for some much needed time away. David hasn't been away from work since Christmas & he has been itching to do some yard work & my mom & dad's yard needed some desperate work from the winter. Saturday David put on his work clothes & went to work. All day he worked on the front yard while Zhara & Alyssa played & played in the dirt. They were having such a good time. There is a little boy named Hayden, who is 5, that lives in my parents cul de sac & when we lived with them last year, Zhara & him became friends. They literally played all day long. That night we went to the small town carnival, which the girls LOVED. It was windy though (shock surprise, it's always windy in Page) and we stopped at the top of the ferris wheel...I haven't been that scared in a long time. The seat was rocking higher than it should & I had a nice tight hold onto Zhara thinking "what in the world would I do if this thing flipped?", but we made it down & my legs were shaking when I got off. Sunday we celebrated Mother's day & Alyssa's birthday. My sister, her fiance & a friend from MO drove up to have lunch with us. We had a nice lunch, with a slightly uncomfortable politic conversation, and then had cake for Alyssa's 3rd birthday. We had a great time. It's always fun to visit Grandma & Grandpa, to just get away for a few days & David enjoyed sweating for a reason. Enjoy the slide show of all we did.

Happy Birthday Alyssa

Today our little Alyssa is 3 years old. I can't believe how fast time has went by. It feels like just a year ago that David was trying to convince me that I wasn't in labor because we weren't ready for her. She came 3 weeks early and she was so tiny and so precious, and thankful very healthy. She was ready to come...so ready that she "canonballed" out and David helped the nurse catch her. She was such an easy baby and is such a sweet beautiful little girl. There is so much joy in watching them grown, and a little bit of a pang of sadness that the precious moments of being a baby go so very quickly. Happy 3rd Birthday Alyssa! We love you!

Splash Park Fun

Wed morning we went to a very cool splash park in Fountain Hills with some friends. The girls had a blast. It had a large splash area, a pond with ducks & 2 covered playgrounds. Even though it is getting a little hot here, it is nice that there are so many water parks to play at for FREE! We ate lunch and then watched a mother duck with her ducklings. The girls played at the park for awhile before hitting the water again before it was time to go home. Zhara was very excited that her swimsuit matched Addie's. They had such a good time we stayed about an hour more than i had planned, but it was well worth it.

Alyssa's First Day of Gymnastics

After watching Zhara do the "big girl" gymnastics for almost a year, Alyssa is finally old enough (well she will be as of this coming Monday) to join her. For the past few months, she has been watching Zhara and just dying to do the class with her. So, as a birthday present from her Great Aunt she got to participate in her first class on Tuesday. Zhara was trying to be such a good big sister & telling her when she was running the wrong way, holding her hand to lead her. Alyssa was so nervous she chewed on her fingers the whole time, but she had the time of her life. It's fun to watch them both do it together.

Special Olympics

Saturday morning we took the girls to Mesa & volunteered with the Special Olympics. There were so many volunteers that we spent most of the time cheering while the athletes ran & then when they received their awards.

We were at a college in Mesa so the stadium was a good size & of course the girls wanted to go the very top. Daddy, always the good sport in our family, took them to look over the edge.

They also had an area with games & crafts. The girls enjoyed some popcorn while watching the athletes dunked the volunteers

The girls tried their throwing skills....we still need to work on those :)

Daddy did crafts with the girls, while I got a free massage....

It was a lot of fun spending this time together as a family & an opportunity to teach the girls that Heavenly Father made everyone special. It was touching to my heart to see what happiness these athletes bring into this world.

Who is Zhara going to marry?

I was cleaning in the kitchen today & Zhara came in and the following conversation occured:

Zhara: Hey mom those pictures on the wall for your wedding day..is that the day you and daddy
fell in love?
Me: We fell in love & then we got married
Zhara: So does that mean that Shauna (one of our friends) fell in love with Taft & they got married
Me: Yes
Zhara: I'm going to marry my Dad
Me: But I'm married to him
Zhara: That's okay
Me: What if you marry someone just like Daddy?
Zhara: I'm going to marry Daddy. I already love him. He's great.

Yes, he is great :) it was one of those melt your heart mom moments and I think it was one for Dad when he heard it too......