I'm a Mormon

I recently updated my profile at Mormon.org - if you'd like to take a look just scroll down my blog and click on the button that says "I'm a Mormon"... or click here.

Our Favorite Hang-out!

We love going to the Arizona Science Center!

When you walk in they have a telescope you can look in - really it's a video camera... it projects your eye onto a lens of a giant telescope hanging from the ceiling. If you stand back far enough you can get your whole face on the screen instead of your giant eye.

Over the summer they had a really fun special exhibit called Mazes.

The kids loved it. They had labyrinths you could walk through - of course - with all kinds of science activities along the way. They had mazes to follow on the floors, rope mazes and all kinds of maze games.

OTG Boy's creation!

Bubba and Junior decided to build a house!

These foot mazes were fun... and tricky!

We couldn't tear Bubba away.

The Professor a-"maze"-ing structure :)

These marble mazes were so addicting - OTG Boy and I agree - we need to buy one!

The "Big" Camping Trip

The last week of July we headed for the mountains...

it was wonderful!!!

It was monsoon season - very rainy - very cold...

It was so much better than sitting at home in the 112 degree heat!
It was beautiful!!!

The kids had a wonderful time!

The Professor overcame his fear of bugs (mostly) and spent a lot of time enjoying the forest - he also helped Handsome Hubby with some cooking and passed-off a few scout requirements.

Junior was in heaven - and endless supply of sticks, strange bugs to look at, hiking & mud!

My little comedian - Bubba - if you've ever seen "Open Season" you may recognize Elliott :)

The boys loved fire building - but Handsome Hubby will tell you, he was impressed/shocked/if not a little frightened with my fire building skills.

OTG Boy spent a lot of time playing, but most of his time fishing.

Junior gathering firewood.

The only picture with me - and it's blurry... oh, well :)

We were trying to get a picture of our new tent. Handsome Hubby and I bought it as our anniversary gift to ourselves... after 14 years we've outgrown the tent my aunts and uncles gave us for our wedding. This one is fun it has room dividers, so The Professor & Bubba shared a room, Junior slept with Handsome Hubby and I, and OTG Boy had a room to himself... everyone was happy AND had plenty of space!

We had a good time - while Handsome Hubby took the boys off for their own special dad/son time (either fishing or hiking) I stayed at camp and played with the boys 0r went for short hikes. If it wasn't raining we were outside playing, making God's Eyes and pet rocks. During the downpours we'd be in the tent playing Scrabble, Mancala, UNO, drawing or reading... it was great - no technology allowed - except for Handsome Hubby - somehow that iPad kept finding it's way out ;)

4 Days & 3 Nights of camping - it was so nice to get away!

Summer Round-up

No need to worry about Junior - he can hold his own just fine!

Dear Family & Friends,
You're probably wondering what we did with ourselves this past summer... especially since we didn't take any big vacations, missed ALL the family reunions, and basically haven't left the state since last summer. (Well unless you count Handsome Hubby - he's been off on business trips to California & Texas... but I don't... I like to travel too!)

If you ask the kids they'll tell you they did chores ALL summer - and they did - but here at HaHa's house we pay on commission so, honestly, it couldn't have been that bad - they were pleased with their summer incomes.

So here's the rundown...

Handsome Hubby - worked a lot, studied a lot, has enjoyed his calling as an 11-year-old scout leader, and is basically functioning on very little sleep - I can't believe how much he accomplishes in the day. Thank goodness the MBA will be done by next summer!

OTG Boy - and the award for "Not Wasting Time" goes to... yes OTG Boy. Not only did he attend Scout Camp for a week, he spent the summer participating in Swim Team, played on a water polo team, had a couple of scout camp outs (in addition to camp), cello lessons, Young Men activities and he volunteered at least once a week at the library. The teenage years are upon us - this is one kid who's hard to keep up with.

The Professor - karate, karate, karate... lots of karate! Also, since he didn't have swimming lessons I "made" him spend time in the pool everyday practicing all his strokes. Don't worry - plenty of free swim time too... I'm not that mean :)

Bubba - took swimming lessons from the best teacher he's ever had! He loved getting his gummy worm at the end of each lesson... such a good little fish.

Junior - well he spent a lot of time with mommy in the car driving to everyone's activities. However, he played in the pool every day, too - he loves jumping off the side and swimming to the steps (still needs help, but he's doing great)!

HaHa - driving, driving & driving. In between activities we managed to throw in our weekly Summer Fun movie at Harkins, plenty of trips to the AZ Science Center (one of our favorite places), a wild morning at BounceU, oh and we can't forget, plenty of trips to the library - the kids completed the both the Mesa & Phoenix summer reading programs (and yes, if you are wondering, I am "that" mean - they had to read separate books for each - but my kids love books so really it's better to have a challenge) - can't wait to take the kids to their free Diamondbacks game!

Also, Handsome Hubby and I had tickets to see "Little Shop of Horrors" - Handsome Hubby thinks I'm so funny but, I love that musical.

And to top off the wonderful summer "break"? A family camping trip - that will get a blog post all it's own.

Very great summer! I'm trying to enjoy them and keep track of the memories - my little boys are growing-up - I love it, but I hate it.

Hope you all had wonderful summers, too!

Love,

HaHa

P.S. We hope to see a lot more of you in the next year!

Dream Come True

Just found this "lost" post - it never published... so here's what they boys were doing last spring!

We were finally able to finish off the major part of our front yard project.

A dream come true!

A Giant pile of rocks in the driveway.

New Sport

2011 found us getting into the world of Mixed Martial Arts!

The Professor loves it!

He started out as a white belt...

Then he advanced to his yellow belt.

After that he was promoted to the Black Belt Training Class...

Now he's learning to use weapons!!!

This summer he earned his orange belt - and he just keeps going!

This has been a great fit for The Professor:

gets focuses on an important life-skill each month...

he gets to hit, kick & yell...

he gets to break boards...

he gets to make "intense" faces...

he gets to use weapons...

he has his own set of kick boxing gloves...

&

he gets to work out & build muscle.
Best of all he loves it!

First Laugh of the Day

Junior is my garden helper. Everyday - we work in the garden together and he likes to say the names of the vegetables as we are weeding or harvesting.

This morning we were out picking some okra...

he was chatting along and then he got very quiet - I could see he was thinking - and then I knew... he'd forgotten what this vegetable was called.

Then all of the sudden his eyes lit up and he said,

"Mama - I weally wike "B"-kra!"

I had to smile - and then said, "you mean "O"-kra?"

"Oh yea, Mama wight... is "O"kra!"

Junior with his "B"-kra!

Jack-O-Lantern in July

Bubba's gonna save us some money on buying pumpkins this October!

He's lost another tooth and has the best jack-o-lantern smile on the block!

He's Alive!

OTG Boy had a wonderful time at scout camp!

He said the weather was perfect...

only a little bit of rain : )

He worked hard and completed 8 Merit Badges:

Astronomy

Environmental Science

First Aid

Indian Lore

Mammal Study

Nature

Wilderness Survival

&

Wood Carving

Handsome Hubby and I are very proud of all his hardwork!

Mighty Fishermen!

It's been years in the making - but Handsome Hubby and OTG Boy have finally experienced a successful fishing trip!

Good thing, too - OTG Boy was trying to finish up a pre-requisite for scout camp.

Thanks Handsome Hubby for taking care of our boys!

Dinner was delicious!

Toothless

Look who just lost another tooth!

Guess we know what Bubba will be wantin' for Christmas!

(Two others are loose & wiggly - how's the poor boy going to eat!?!)

Trying to Let Go

OTG Boy walked out the door, today, at 4am!

Off for a week of Scout Camp!

Handsome Hubby drove him to the church, while I waited at home watching the lightening light up the walls and listening to the thunder crash. Then the rain started pouring down...

My mind was racing...

will he be warm enough?

will any of his belongings stay dry?

why am I letting him go away for a whole week?

Handsome Hubby has done his best to calm my fears and remind me that this week, both the good and the bad, will be important experiences for OTG Boy. He promised me he'll survive.

He better be right... it's going to be a very long week for mom!

Time Flies

When we moved back to Phoenix in 2004

I thought my little boy was so cute swimming in the pool!

Then

OTG Boy

Now

My cute little swimmer has turned into a crazy cannonball,

very grown-up, "almost" teenager!

Staying Cool

(Bubba and The Professor)

Favorite Summer Family Activity? Swimming!!!

The Garden

Our garden has been very productive this year!!!

It's been fun for the kids to help -

they help with the watering & the weeding.

So far we've harvested:

Green Bell Peppers

Roma Tomatoes (hundreds - it feels like)

Jalapeno Peppers (very spicy)

Peas

Cucumbers

and Okra!

The zuchini and crook neck squashes are almost ready!

Lessons Learned:

We had to battle the birds this year they kept eating our little plants...

Handsome Hubby created a system to keep the birds out!

Lesson two: we specifically planted roma tomatoes because I had heard they are excellent for canning. So, I thought with all our peppers I would make my own salsa to can. I learned making salsa is a lot of work - for a very small yield. I think I'll stick with the sales and buy my salsa at the store from now on : )

Missing Posts

So I thought I had created some new posts - since I know Grandmas like to know what is going on. It looked like they had been created and published... but now they are missing. So, I will try to re-create them later today and see what happens. Sorry.

Playing is Hard Work

Junior has two things... okay actually, three things he absolutely loves doing!

The first is playing outside - but there's no picture - he helps me water the garden every morning.

Number two: he loves trains - his room becomes a train track... daily!

The third? Woody is his best friend! We watched "Toy Story 3" for the first time a couple of months ago. Half way through the movie Junior ran out of the room, threw every toy out of the toy box until he found Woody, and his hat, at the very bottom... they've been inseparable ever since!

Life Size Science Project

The Professor had a great time on his most recent field trip!

Biosphere 2

(click here to see their website)

It was an incredibly windy day on the outside...

but on the inside balmy and tropical!

I don't know the name, but apparently this flower is rarely in bloom... pretty lucky to see something that's so hard to find.

Junior and The Professor in the tropical rain forest biome.

The ocean - doesn't look so big in the picture, but it was very impressive!

All of us in the underground ocean viewing room.

The Professor had a great time! Even though the initial science experiment (living inside without help from the outside) failed - the ongoing science projects are amazing. So amazing in fact, The Professor is actually thinking he'd rather attend the University of Arizona - just for the chance to participate in some ongoing research at the Biosphere.

If you get the chance ask him what it's like inside "the lung" he'd love to tell you about it!

Junior's 2 - it's a little Deja Vu

A few pictures from the big day!

Loved his egg free cake!

and now for the

Deja vu!

Here's Bubba when he turned 2!