A "Soft Opening" of Preschool

Landon starts full time preschool this winter, at the turning of 3 years old. In an effort to ease him into this transition Scot and I decided to start him in "school" 2 mornings a week. This morning was his "soft opening", a trial run. Thinking he might not be too eager to stay, I didn't bring my camera (I'll send Scot with it next week). Landon did fantastic, sure their were moments panic, when he realized I was gone. His teacher Miss Heather offered him so much reassurance and would redirect him to new activities, keeping him interested. Did I mention I never left the school? Yep, I stayed and watched him on the large screen in the front office. I had to ease myself into this new routine too. Did I mention my mom is the Director of school? Still needing some reassurance myself and learning to trust new people with my child. I picked him up for his class a couple of hours later. He was sitting in Miss Heather's lap getting some needed consoling. At the sight of mom, the tears stopped, and he was so excited to tell me about painting a tool box and playing on the slide! Sure, it will be a big transition and yet another milestone discovered!!

11th Hour at Scorpion Bay

For everyone who had previously inquired on my Facebook page, Scorpion Bay is at Lake Pleasant. Fifteen minutes from my house and yet I haven't been to Lake Pleasant in over 6 years. So, for this rare lake outing, we donned our sunglasses, susnscreen, and casual, non-swimsiut attire, to enjoy the company of our good friends. We all felt transported back to our vacation together in Antigua...the warm sunset setting on the water, great background music, and a few cocktails later, we were in our own mini adult vacay.

Build-a-Bear

Mommy and Landon Wednesdays.....we are attached at the hip. I always try to have a special event planned for us to celebrate our day. Off to Scottsdale Fashion Square for Build-a-Bear. Landon wanted the 1st bear he saw, ignoring all the sad stuffed animals eyes staring at him....."This one, Mama!" He filled Bear with stuffing, kissed his heart, and wanted him naked. No clothes, shoes, or hat for Landon's Bear, just the stroller "pleeeeze"!

He was so thrilled to push Bear's stroller through the mall! Such a good hearted boy!

"Happy Dada Day"

To the dads in my life, Dad, Scot, Jimmy, Vince, and Pop: Each of you holds a special place in my heart! I love you for the men that your are and for the dad that you choose to be. I am thankful for all the memories I have with each of you, whether it be teaching me to grow, watching you with your children, and now being in Landon's life. He is so fortunate to be surrounded with amazing role models and will learn so much from each of you! I love you all very much! "Happy-Dada-Day", as Landon would say!

BBQ at Casa Z.....I cooked and cooked and cooked to make the day special and relaxing for everyone. Gorgonzola stuffed burger, brauts, shrimp orzo, baked beans, homemade salsa, lime pistachio cupcakes, and a large pitcher of mojitos was on the menu.

My dad and I

Scot and his Pop, attempting to relax, aside from the splashing!

Scot and my sister, Bella

Landon getting some swimming lessons from his Aunt Bella.

Uncle Marc made a special delivery for Landon that day to complete his Thomas the Train set. Landon has so many pieces, we can alternate monthly to change the theme of his table. Thank Uncle Marc for your generous gifts!

Animal Rescue

Family of kittens were found in my mom's front yard. She made all efforts to take in the mama cat and her 5 kittens. The mama cat took 1 kitten and ran, leaving her sweet 4 kittens in the care of my mom. Everyday she leaves food and water, just hoping the mama cat will return. The tiny kittens are about 1 week old, meaning my mom has been bottle feeding them every 2 hours, making feeding charts, helping them go potty, and keeping them warm, until they find a wonderful home. What a nuturing mom I have!!!!

Touch my shirt and I will squirt!

You never know what bath time will hold in our house. Landon either loves it or hates it! Tonight, as long as the shirt remained on his head, we were in great shape! If the shirt came off, Mom gets squirt....I don't know where he comes up with these games, but I sure do love 'em!

Marco? Polo!

Snow cones and Marco Polo.....gotta love the summer!

Lando and I enjoyed the warm afternoon with our neighbors. Swimming, relaxing, and sucking down as many snow cones as possible. Days like these feel like I'm on summer vacay, as we walk home exhausted and happy from playing with our friends!

I'm Lovin' This!

A weekend with no plans, nothing scheduled, and an unexpected day off, this does not come often. What to do, what to do?! Children's Museum, of course. One of our favorite family events. Each visit we make to the fun house, gets better, as Landon gets older and discovers new adventures. This visit, he was extremely fascinated with the children's scissors in the craft room. A quick stop in the gift shop as we exit (for the sucker parents, who wind up over spending on toys, cadets, and astronaut ice cream), earned Lando 2 pairs of children's scissors, which have now lost the magical fascination at home.


"Would you like ice or stamps with your grocery purchase?"


"Go, car, go!"


Hitching a ride!

Sunday, my free day! We lounged and ate the afternoon away. The only way to be outdoors, is to be submerged in water, as the over 100 degree temperatures have arrived. A suntan and a nap later.....dinner time. BBQ? Perhaps. However, Landon choose the menu tonight, King crab legs and shrimp.....GREAT CHOICE!! Family time, shellfish, DQ, and off to BED! Ahh, what a weekend!

Boogey boarding on the fountain waves!


AHHHH!!!


My boys


Showing off his jumbo shrimps!


Getting a crab cracking lesson from the master!

Cheers to many more lazy summer weekends!

Beautiful Teeth

Landon and his beautiful, full set of baby teeth got their first cleaning today. Yep, another milestone conquered: his 1st dentist appointment. We visited West Valley Pediatric Dentistry today. First off, the office is awesome and I'm thinking about switching over there for my dental maintenance. There was nothing to fear in a movie theater theme office full of movies, video games, and marshmallow fluoride. Landon had no problem sitting on my lap, leaning back, and opening up to get his teeth polished, flossed, and brushed. At the end of his visit, he was given 2 tokens for a prize of his choice.....bouncy balls. He had such a great time, I never knew going to the dentist could be so fun!

Playing the Nemo video game while waiting in the teeth cleaning room.

Trying out his new toothbrush!

Friends Fur-ever!

A boy and his best friend!

East Coast Part 2: The Cape

A quick drive from Manchester brought us to The Cape!! The gorgeous, slow moving, quiet town took some getting used to. Coming from our fast moving pace of life to a sreeching halt in Cape Cod, was just what we needed. Cool weather, nearly vacant beaches (which made capturing family photos difficult, no one was around for me to bother), and more seafood than our stomachs could imagine.

Our cottage at Colonial Acres was perfect...we fell in love with our temporary home instantly. The view was gorgeous and the crisp Cape Cod morning breeze through the windows was tranquil and calming.

A sixty second walk brought us to our private beach, just to complete the pinnacle picture of our home by the sea!

We ventured to several different beaches, each with their own charisma and uniqueness. The cool sugary sand and quiet waves brought us hours of entertainment. Landon could spend all of his day digging, building, and sliding down the sand hills. We combed the beach for polished rocks, shells, and sat eating Salt Water Taffy by the hand fulls. Each night we retreated to our cottages with bags of fresh fish and shellfish fresh off the boat from the local fish markets.

A boat tour on Prudence was an ideal way to view the famous surrounding areas, including the Kennedy Compound. Landon, knowing the world is his playground, has no fear and becomes quite comfortable in new surroundings. The boat was no different, skipping, dancing, and jumping across the bow, while we chased after him!

A trip to Boston was included in our itinerary. We roamed the brick lined streets through the wharf, for more seafood, Little Italy, where we loaded up on pastries at Bova's, over to Cheers, and took the train to Cambridge to visit Harvard.

Just a glimmer of our 10 days, treasured and cherished family moments! Breeze in our hair, sand in our toes, dining on seafood stew...Cape Cod we undeniably miss you!

East Coast Part 1: CT and NYC

Let vacation begin!! Off we go to CT to visit my brother Vince, sister-in-law, Melissa, and my niece, Chloe. They had just flown home from their Phoenix visit and we followed them a day later. The time went by in a blink! We were so excited to see Manchester and have them all to ourselves during our visit. Landon and Chloe got valuable cousin time in, as well as Aunt Kristin getting in cuddle time with her too! Ahhh, look at her....gorgeous and I just can't get enough of her red hair! We took the train into NYC for the day (just before the car bombing scare, whew!). Scot and I were stoked to take Lando on the train, the boy loves "choochoos". After 10 minutes, we hear "all done" from him....uhhh, sorry son, we have another 50 minutes to go. The choochoo lost it's luster QUICK!


Game Night!


Waiting at the New Haven Train Station


Thrilled to ride the choochoo!


Are we there yet?


Bryant Park Cafe...highly recommend!


Adventurous bus tour (yep, that's our boy with his finger in his nose...so glad I caught that)


Time Square! One of us couldn't handle life in the Big Apple!


Vince, Mel, and Chloe

Taking the day to relax, outdoor CT style....the boys went kayaking before an evening BBQ.

Suiting up!


Vince, Scot and Landon.....I think Landon is doing all the paddling!


Landon showing Chloe how to tackle the park.


1st swing ride (I think she likes it)


They looked thrilled that we posed them!



I could get used to this CT life!


Sis!

Vince, Mel, and Chloe, thank you for the amazing start to our vacation! We had an amazing time, full of incredible moments and laughs. We love you!

Stay tuned for East Coast Part 2: The Cape