Nap Time or Should I Say "Rest" Time

Blake gave up naps over a year ago, but for the last few weeks he has been so grumpy that he absolutely needs one. Since he is not a regular nap-taker he can sometimes be difficult to put down, but I've finally cracked him. Now instead of putting him down for a "nap," I ask if he would like to take a "rest" with his blanket...in my closet....with the lights off. For whatever reason, he thinks this is an awesome idea and we make a little bed for him in our closet, turn the lights off, shut the door, and voila! Five minutes later...

Before becoming a parent, I would have never considered putting my kid in a closet to sleep was "good parenting" but trust me...it's pretty great.

Zoo X 2

 We've been to the zoo a few times in the past months, and we've been trying to squeeze in all the outside time we can before it gets too hot. The Phoenix Zoo is probably one of the best zoos I've ever been to: lots of animals, nice exhibits, shade, splash pads throughout, and free parking. We are huge fans!

Blake loves to be our guide and tell us which animals to see next
(Blake is sitting with me as we're looking at this and giving commentary: "I wanted to see the giraffes first, right mom?")

 Another highlight is the monkey exhibit where you walk into their cage...very cool!

 Hard to tell from the picture, but Blake thinks it's awesome to walk backwards through the zoo. It would be much easier for me to love too if it didn't take twice as long :)

We thought this sign was funny until we witnessed a goat attack a map in someone's pocket exactly like the picture. It ran off and ate half of it before Lance was able to pull the rest out of its mouth.

(Blake: "That goat is eating his pants!")

(Blake: "They is petting that sleeping one, then he waked up, then he sleeped")

 Blake would have been content to spend hours driving the tractor
(Blake: "I was driving right here, on the truck, I was driving and driving a long time then I got off")

(Blake: "Addi's hugging a frog, right mom?")

 And we finished off the day at one of the larger splash pads. The kids loved it and got sufficiently soaked.

(Blake: "Hmmmm....look mom, I'm doing that, I'm doing that mom! And I was wet everywhere. And I was chasing that. And I was stopping it--the spray water.")

 I tried to take a picture of the soaking kids and Lance kept spraying them with a water bottle. This was as good as it got under the circumstances.

 Helping her sister see the otters.

(Blake:"look, I was seeing some chalk"(?))

 Hundreds of turtles at the main entrance
(Blake: "I like these kind of fish...I mean...I mean...turtles they're nice cause they're up. And I didn't go in the water.")

 After the zoo, we stopped at a picnic area to eat dinner, and caught lizards. Such a fun and beautiful place!
(Blake: "Daddy was checking it out, Mom! And I was eating sandwiches. And Addi was eating her sandwich all gone.")

(Blake: This is Blakey...me...I was chewing mom.")

Phoenix Coyotes Game

 One of the other OS residents had free tickets to a Phoenix Coyotes hockey game, couldn't go, and was nice enough to let us use them. Neither of us had ever been to an NHL game and we ended up having a blast!

At first the kids were cold in contrast to the hot temperatures outside, but it didn't take long to warm up with tons of dancing and craziness. Ev was convinced that if she was crazy enough that she would end up on the big screen. That didn't really work out well, but she sure entertained everyone and had a blast doing it! :)

 Blake was glued to the game the whole time. Every night he prays to go back to the "hocking game"

Fires and Forts

Pictures of some recent happenings: fires in the backyard and forts in the house

I'm still getting used to all the bumps and scrapes of little boys...he doesn't seem to mind though!

Easter

Easter Morning was so much fun with the kids this year! Since there is no Daylight Savings Time in Arizona our mornings keep getting brighter and earlier without going forward an hour. Needless to say, since our kids wake up with the sun, we celebrated Easter earlier than ever before! It's always amazing how exciting finding a candy-filled egg can be.