Ready for my close up!

These pics are just too adorable too not to show off!

Friday, Landon had his assessment and observation day at the private school we have had our eye on.  What does this entail?  The assessment and observation occurs in the classroom where he joins into the day’s curriculum.  He is paired with an outgoing child to assist in his transition.  During the class one of his two teachers will sit down with him to perform an assessment of his “skills”.  The day prior to going to the school, his teacher, Miss Downing, called to give me my mommy pep talk and reassurance that Landon is going to have a wonderful day and they will take amazing care of him.  Landon was thrilled to be heading off to school, as soon as he woke up he was eager to go.  With his lunch box (he picked it out, “red like a fire truck”) filled with the best assorted snack and lunch items (Scot and I are determined he be the kid with the best lunch) and a fire truck for show-and-tell, I had to snap a photo of his adorable-ness.  Lan lined up his school items and posed himself, then would come to view it on the camera screen, and pose himself again for another snapshot!   He was ecstatic when we arrived, a quick hug and kiss for mom and he was off playing with his new friends.  Anxious to pick him up and see how his day went, I arrived a little early, peeking my head in the window, I could see the kids sitting in a circle and singing the Rainbow song.  Both teachers looked over at me with a big smile and a thumbs up, mouthing “he did great”.  The finale of class, the parents got to come in and join into Animal Day, a working dog, tortoise, crab, and lizard, where brought in for the kids to see, pet, and learn about.  To sum it up, Landon had an amazing day, his teachers were impressive, and Landon was officially accepted into preschool!  Harvard here we come!

 

Easter Eggstravaganza

Easter weekend:  visit from Aunt Bella…his partner in crime, brunch at our house with the fam, egg hunts, baskets overflowing with treats, and a new bike compliments of the Easter Bunny!! I love this time of year!

        

Goodnight Moon

Fun Finds of Our Day

Find #1: Landon and I happened to find the Town and Country farmer’s market yesterday when we stopped to shop at Trader Joes.  Lan was just as excited as I was to shop the organic produce, holding back not to eat the colorful, delicious finds.  As we loaded up on our produce treasures, all Landon could talk about was eating “delicious carrots like the Easter Bunny”. 

 

Find #2:  Trader Joes grocery shopping, always a favorite of Landon’s and mine.  Pushing his “teeny tiny shopping cart” (as he calls it), we always have to head to the sample counter to see what is on the menu.  Item of the day:  Thai Beef.  Two small servings into it and Landon’s response, “Mom, we gotta buy this”.   I have to share this recipe, it was a hit at last night’s dinner.  Love finding new, simple recipes!

1 ½ lb cubed sirloin

1 cup low fat coconut milk

1 cup Thai red curry sauce

Organic Jasmine rice

Organic Stir fry vegetable

In a crock-pot, combine sirloin and sauces. Cook on high heat for approximately 6 hours. Add vegetables to crock-pot 30 minutes before serving. Serve over rice.

Find  #3:  The introduction to a new crafty blog has my creative spirit going. I scanned the site and fell upon a few ideas.  Let me preface by saying,  I do not have much of the creative gene, but I think these moss covered letters turned out pretty good! What do you think? 

Happy 34th!!

My sweet hubby turned the big 3-4 yesterday and I just need to take a minute (and a post) to dedicate to just him!  Friday I surprised him with small birthday bash, family, close friends, and an abundance of Mexican food.  Saturday, relaxation day, which is a rare treat. Hanging by the pool, massages, and sushi.  Thinking I would be working all day for his actual birthday, we didn’t have any plans set.  Fortunately, I sent myself home early, was home by noon, and spent the day with my boys. I prepared a feast for dinner, while Scot and Landon could just enjoy playing outside together, without interruptions.  A wonderful couple of days celebrating….just what he  wanted!

Scot, the love of my life, married for almost 10 years and have known him for almost 17!  The years are steadily aging us together from when we met, when I was 15 and you, 17, but we are doing it together,every step of the way! Through all of life’s crazy curve basll, you have been our rock!  You have pushed me into so many amazing experiences that I was too hesitate to take and opened my eyes to beautiful new avenues that were waiting for me to explore.  Life with you is the true meaning of love! You are kind and giving, peaceful and energetic, crazy and sane….you are the other half of me!  Happy Birthday, babe!  I love you!

Combat Logistics Battalion 6

Combat Logistics Battalion 6, Marine Company Brandon Tucker……aka Uncle Tuck to us.  My brother in law was deployed this week.  His expected time away is 400 days.  First, short stop is in North Carolina, until he gets the call to leave immediately to Afghanistan.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you Tucker, as you are serving our country!

   

Landon just adores his Uncle Tuck!!!

A “see you soon” dinner at Baby Kays, followed by cigars for the boys!!

Tucker and his new bride and my sister, Jenna!!

Nothing can stop her!!

86 years old and our Nannie still knows how to keep the fun going!  My Nannie and Aunt Holly were in town for a much needed visit.  The first day after their long car trip here and Nannie is out playing soccer with her great-grandson!  Nannie is our cherished grandmother, she is “our rock”, an amazing, inspirational woman, that has a heart made of gold and a heavenly soul. When I was younger, my brothers and I joked that Nannie can do anything….she has special powers and skills that would allow her to be our super hero!   I am very close to her, as she is with all her grandchildren, and I am so thrilled that she takes so much time to travel here to be us and, more importantly,  with Landon.  

Dad and Lan days finally recorded

I am always telling Scot to bring the camera on he and Lando’s adventures together.  Scot and Landon spend every Sunday through Tuesday together, doing the guy-thing, when I work.  Scot is an amazing Dad, never a dull moment.  They are  “regulars” at Peter Piper Pizza, the train park, and Landon’s favorite, the reptile store.  Our boy has taken a small, recent liking to snakes.  Scot and he spent the  day at the zoo, specifically to see the snakes……yuck.  Camera finally in hand to record their fun for me. 

 

The Z’s

Back blogging, but these photos are some of my favs.  An unexpected Sunday off, found us with a chill family day.  Breakfast, lounging, and dinner at Scot’s parent’s house.  Prior to me working every Sunday, we used to have dinner nearly each Sunday over at Mumzee and Pop’s house.  Homemade pasta, crazy stories, and lets not forget plenty of wine and limoncello.  The tradition came alive  again this Sunday, complete with some park time to work off our carb fest!

Happy Birthday, Papa Jimmy!

We celebrated Jimmy’s birthday last night at Baby Kay’s….you just can’t have Cajun cuisine without our Papa! We pulled off a surprise dinner with my mom, sister Jenna, her husband Uncle Tuck, as Lan refers to him, and Jimmy’s mom.  As always, our family time is so precious to us.  We are so fortunate to all be so close, share crazy stories and memories.  I am so thankful for my mom bringing Jim into our lives, as he is always there to to fulfill what we need in a moment’s notice……that pep talk that was needed, relationship advice, travel arrangement assistance, photography mentor, computer genius, basically a resource for any type of trivia, you name it, he knows it.  We love you!  Cheers to you and many, many, many more family birthday celebrations together!

“My Bella”

Landon’s, Aunt Bella, stayed Friday night with us. Landon refers to his aunt, as “my Bella’.  His first sleepover with Aunt Bella was so special.  These two just adore one another and at seven years apart, they are more like cousins, than aunt and nephew. We went to opening night of Rango……a movie must for kids and adults, played like crazy, and Landon showed off his moves at baseball practice to his Bella.

Hoping to get much more Bella time over spring break and summer!!!  We love you!

Hiking Buddy

There is very little we do without our Landon and he is always up for new adventures!  This week, Landon and packed up our backpack, leashed the dog, and off we went to Cave Creek Recreational Park to hike the trails.

Time passed so quickly as we walked, explored, enjoyed the beautiful weather and landscape.  Landon caught the attention of majority of the hikers, as the youngest hiker seen on the trails.  He was quick to introduce our dog, to everyone that stopped to meet my friendly toddler, and discuss how we were hiking to the top of the mountain! This is a definite addition to our weekly activities, while the weather is just perfect.

And Just Like That, February was Gone…..

Can I cram all this in one post? 

A side from our day to day activities, we fill our hours with play dates, outings, cooking, family gatherings, etc, etc, etc.  You know the drill, life is BUSY!!  I find my camera less and less attached to me as we travel through our daily adventures. Camera used to be my natural appendage, I was never without my trusty side kick.  However, as Landon’s intelligence grows and his zest for life and adventure becomes more and more apparent…..hold that thought, he has just discovered that blue and red paints make purple and has painted his hands and face……as I was saying,  toting  along my camera can seem more of a burden when running out of the house at warp speed to our next adventure.  Blogging, such a small priority during the day and each time I fill the  page with a post, I vow to make this life collection of stories, more of a priority.  Enough about that!  I certainly am not complaining nor making excuses, just rationalizing my lack of postings more for myself than anyone who follows my blog. 

Lets start with our star attraction, Landon! He loves an audience and is quick to say, “where’s my people to watch me?”. Only child syndrome perhaps or do I see a thespian in our future?!  Still heavily into firefighting, his love for fire trucks is still strong!  His imagination is out of control, as he will set his own rules of play and can create fun without toys and just using his hands and creativity.  It seems as though the “Terrible Two” battles are fewer and further between as he is growing into a little man.  Battles or parental/toddler disagreements have become more complicated and complex.  He has a come back for each of our reasons and can be quite quick witted with his responses.  It’s a fine line between continuing with the battle or complimenting him for his critical thinking skills!  We have taken a temporary hiatus from school.  The cold and flu season was getting the better of us and we spent more time passing around our germs than actually enjoying life and learning.

 

Watching a firefighter tutorial online.

Playing fire tucks…..of course.

Lan loves spending time in the kitchen and we couldn’t be more thrilled, since Scot and I love to cook and entertain.  His dexterity is great with chopping, stirring, and cracking eggs.  His expertise and comfort around a kitchen will make his future wife thrilled.

Making homemade soft pretzels, like I used to do with my Mom! 

 

I turned the big 3-2 in February!  Birthdays come and go, but seem to be slowly leaving me small gifts of age…..a new wrinkle here, a few more grey hairs, ugh.  We squeezed in a few nights of celebrating!  Dinner a Posh with my hubby, family dinner night, and a lunch with my Dad!

 

32 and counting!!  I have to mention, my amazing husband, and his thoughtfulness.  My birthday always falls over his busiest time for his company, The Phoenix Open, WM Open, whatever the name is now.  He managed to find time to whisk me away for date night, send roses to me at work, and fill our bedroom with hundreds of balloons and  champagne chilling  when I cam home from work.  Ohhh, what a good man!

Landon and Tata, lunch at the Spotted Donkey, one of my favs!!

Trying a new recipe tonight!

Cooking tips from a pro, Cousin Jackie, who happens to be in culinary school.

Our masterpiece:  Lobster Da Fraviolo.  The lobster head was Landon’s final touch and he wanted the head on his dinner plate. 

My bro, Anthony, and his fiancé, Kori,  came into town for a quick visit.  We soaked up as much time as we could with them!  Landon cannot get enough of his Uncle Ants!!

We retreated to “Our Spot”, Sauce, for wine, food, and hours and hours of laughter!!

Brunch with Kori’s family, while they were in town!

Kori, Anth, Lan, Scot, and me….such posers! We miss having them in AZ to goof off with!

After my early, early morning yoga class, I found the hot air balloons just outside our gate.  I raced home to get my boys, so Landon could finally see the balloons up close and personal.

 

Somewhere in all that, we managed to buy a kitten.  Yep, we are officially Zee Farms and suckers for animals:  2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 hamster, and several fish (recently 1 fish had approximately 30-40 babies, all but one was eaten by the others).

Callie, the kitten, keeping close to Wonder Per, the hamster!

Managed to capture a few moments on camera and several not on camera.  One thing is for certain, Z life just gets better and better!!