Itty Bitty Sports - Basketball

The second sport in the Itty Bitty lessons is basketball. Here Lauren is trying to shoot a hoop.


"Can we play soccer?"


Cole enjoyed dunking the ball.



"Who's ready to do suicides next week? They are just as fun as basketball."

Easter fun

We decided to check out the annual Ahwatukee Easter Parade this year. It consisted of mostly local groups (even the local TEA party) and lots of girl scout troops (brownies and daisies included). One common theme though was the passing out of candy and easter eggs which Lauren loved.


Here's a dance studio with their own float.


This was a boy scout troop.


The organizers of the free concert in the park series also had an Easter egg hunt. Here you can see Lauren and Cole hunting for eggs. There weren't too many kids in the 3 and under category.


Cole is enjoying all the loot he picked up. Turns out some of the eggs had money or gift certificates in them. We got four gift certificates for free frozen yogurt. Definitely beats jelly beans.

Pancake Art

We recently bought a pancake batter dispenser to be used for filling up mini cupcakes but since it was actually designed for pancakes, I thought I'd give it a try. I must admit I am not an artist and actually had a lot of trouble coming up with things to draw.


This was supposed to be a smiley face with two eyes but it looks more like an African soapstone sculpture.


Heart.


Flower


Car


Triangle. I told you I had an hard time thinking of things to draw.

I'm 23 months old today!

I can't believe I'm almost 2 yrs old. I heard I'm going to be going to see Sesame Street Live! I can't wait. I wonder if I'll get upgraded to a real bed and out of my crib just like Lauren did.

Ostrich festival time again

After attending last year, we are making the Ostrich Festival sort of a tradition. Last year Lauren wanted to go on the swings and this year we took her on the little ones.


Unfortunately Cole was too little so he had to watch from the side.


They even had a little Ferris wheel.


Lauren once again got to go while Cole waited on the ground.


You can see the bigger rides in the distance.


What's an Ostrich festival without some ostriches.


My favorite part.


Lauren enjoying her time in the dumbo ride that Cole finally got to ride in as well.


This year they had a Sea Lion show that was pretty good. Who needs Sea World.


They also had a little dog show but we missed that.

Itty Bitty Sports - Soccer

We signed Lauren up for Itty bitty sports which teaches soccer, basketball, and Tee ball. Lauren is raising her hand after the coach asked who knew how to do jumping jacks.



"Is that your ball or mine?"



Lauren is practicing her dribbling.



Time to score a Goal!

Transportation Day

Ever since last year's Transportation Day, we have been looking forward to this year's event. Only Lauren went last year but unfortunately, Lauren came down with Strep so only Cole got to go this year. Here you can see the helicopter and this year the firefighters hosed down the dirt patch so it didn't kick up when the helicopter landed.


This year we decided to watch the landing from within the school bus. A much safer bet.


"Dad, I don't know who that kid is but I think he just put something in my pocket"


Cole is checking out the helicopter.



The event even featured some biplanes.

"I can't believe they don't trust us to not touch the trains!"

"Officer I swear. I have no idea what this is in my pocket."

"I wonder if my car seat would fit in here. "

I'm 22 months old today!

This month I've really transitioned into a young toddler. I'm throwing tantrums and giving the evil eye if I don't get my way. I'm potty training. And most importantly, I'm starting to talk more and more. For example, I'll say something like this when Daddy tries to get me up in the morning. "No Dadee, No Dadee, Momee come, Momee come."

The Sheriff is in town

Rawhide had their 40Th anniversary celebration this past weekend where they had all free shows and attractions. They were giving out Sheriff badges and hats. They have stopped doing the farmer's market which was a great way to see the place without having to pay.


Lauren and Cole are enjoying a nice stage coach ride.


Here was one of the free shows. It had some rope and animal tricks and the kids enjoyed them. The other show we went to was a gun fight which was a little loud and not quite appropriate for the kids. Needless to say, the kids were scared and we ended up leaving during the middle of it with both Cole and Lauren crying.


Lauren checking out the horse at the petting zoo.


The sheep were a little afraid of all the kids.


Cole showing his pearly whites.

Peace to the children

Lauren recently had a peace program at school where all the 3-6 yr old classes sang songs about peace. Parents were also encouraged to dress their kids in outfits that reflected their heritage. Lauren just happened to have an outfit from China that my parents bought when they were there last year.



Here you can see her in action giving the peace sign.

Bye bye plunger

We finally got around to replacing our toilets. The old toilets would clog all the time and after my nephew over flowed one of them, it was time to change them. We bought the Toto Ultramax II toilets. They are a one piece design and have the double cyclone flush. We previously installed Toto Drakes in our old house but figured this time we'd go with the one piece design. The Drakes were a little bit lower so the kids need a stool with these new ones. Oh and of course these have the soft close seats.