Jambo

My friend, Kristia, and I took our kiddos to Jambo.  What is Jambo, you ask?  It’s a jungle themed indoor  amusement park for kids.  This place offers hours upon hours of excitement.  It was a perfect escape from the heat and something new to do.  The Children’s Museum was our favorite default outing, next to The Quarters splash pad, however, even being out at the splash pad is just too hot.  Needless to say Jambo will now be added on our list of outings!

The flying swings were a hit with Landon right off the bat.  Miss Ella enjoyed the spinning for a few rounds, then she wanted off.  This may have spoiled it for her, because she was not too eager to ride on anything else.

The flying elephants.  It amazes me that he can spin and spin and not get dizzy.  I was dizzy just watching!

 The train ride reminded me of Willy Wonka….so colorful and magical looking.

Ready, set, bowl!

Gearing up for laser tag.  This was Landon’s favorite activity!! I went in to watch, (was a little hesitant to send him into the dark room with some older kids and expect good results) they geared me up with a vest and laser gun too.   He had a blast ducking behind walls, running after the boys shooting his laser gun.  The room was small and not as dark as I envisioned, and the kids (and myself) had a blast!!

Mini golf was NOT a hole in one!  Ella and Lan putted everywhere, not excited to learn how to play.  This photo captures the best scene of them.  Landon is attempting to dislodge his ball and Ella is putting around him.  

Climbing up into the spider web maze!!

Stopping for a little lunch break.  FYI, should you decide to venture to Jambo avoid the pizza!  Sweet Ella was determined to never smile for me!!

Ella’s favorite….skee ball! 

Thanks for a great afternoon girls!!!

The fun never ends……

Playdate after playdate, from one fun activity to the next!  There isn't one day that has gone by that we felt bored or cooped up in the house, we are always on the go.  I forgot to post this last week, swimming and snow cones with the Paoletti’s.  Absolutely fun way to watch the afternoon set!!!

 

Water wars….Karen hiding behind Hayden!!

Alyssa prepares all the snow cones.

Yum!!

Having a little heart to heart conversation with Hayden.  Landon just adores him!!

Summertime yum and tumble

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chef  Landon has been embarking on culinary skills and eating his way through his Little Chefs class.  Little Chefs has been his favorite summer class, from making a fruit rainbow (pictured as a before and after), homemade pizza, and worms in dirt, to name a few of their menu items.  Landon continues to love love love cooking!  Being in this class spills over more and more to his creativity in our kitchen, making is own creations with sandwiches and mixing bizarre concoctions from the pantry and frig.   Little Chefs has now prompted us to enroll him into further cooking classes.  Watch out Food Network, he comes the next Food Network Star or Iron Chef!!

Ruff and tumble, hop and skip, roll and run……tumbling class has been KINDA fun.  Pictures are scarce, as there is only a small window to view class.  Initially Landon was into tumbling, enjoying all the activity, fun music, and kids.  However, whenever I would peek though the window to catch a glimpse, the boys were always sitting on the sidelines looking bored, but Landon still reported he was having a great time.  That great time was short lived, when last week, Ms. Suzie, his teacher, had a major freak out, running out of class, and shouting, “Jacob threw up!!” . As Jacob’s mom ran to retrieve him, the kids in the class looked shell shocked and Landon’s face was near tears.  Ms. Suzie exclaimed to the parents that Jacob’s mom needed to clean the puke up, she just can’t handle it.  What the heck was with the rudeness, I don’t know…..as if the poor child puking was worst sight she had seen and was blaming the vomiting incident on the the puzzled face parents, as to why she was melting down.  I offered to help Jacob’s embarrassed  mom clean up the vomit, but she reported she was a nurse as well, and wasn’t bothered by the tiny amount of puke on the floor.  As class ended, Landon announced to me he is not going back to tumbling, his teacher is mean and she was mean to kid that got sick!  I certainly didn’t witness the vomiting incident and Ms. Suzie’s initial response to poor Jacob. However, seeing her in the aftermath leads me to believe she did not respond with calm empathy.  Whether you can handle a little vomit or not, I certainly will listen to Landon’s request to not make him endure returning to his awful teacher when this time was to be enjoyed.  So we move on to other exciting activities!!!

How old are you again?.

Scenes from yesterday and today that force to me to say, “Please stay my little baby forever”

Casually hanging on the couch playing Bistro Chef on the droid.

I’m in the shower and I hear, “I’m going to get a strawberry, Mom.  I’ll be real careful.” (There’s my cue to see what he is up to.)  I hop out of the shower, hear the phone ringing, the refrigerator door open, strawberries out, and Landon walking over to answer the phone.  As he sees me, he hands me the phone, “here you go, Mom”, steps up to  the counter on his stool and proceeds slicing his berries.

Too top it off, his hilarious one-liners (“Gimme some sugar, sugar!”, “Sock it to me.”),  maturing vernacular (“Mom, I’m freakin’ out”) and now adding a “your mom” joke is over to top hilarious hearing it come out of your mouth with the voice of innocence!!

Seriously, kid, you need to stay little forever……all these little independent, self sufficient tasks remind me you are growing up waaaaaay to fast!

Not too close…

Scot put on a small firework display for us this evening.  As the drizzle of the rain subsided, we headed out to the patio. Landon was feeling slightly hesitant to view the colorful, firey light display, so he decided to stay inside to view the fireworks from the patio doors.  As we lit the first one, we turned to see Landon’s reaction……he went and got his binoculars to appreciate each detail of the fireworks that were a mere 6 feet ahead of him!!  Hilarious!!

 Cheers to a sparkling 4th of July!!

Landon the Science Kid

Arizona Science Center, hands on, eye opening fun…..My girlfriend Lindsey and I took our boys to enjoy the educational fun the center had to offer. Landon had a blast exploring the ins and outs of each exhibit and acknowledging his toddler science comprehension.   His ability to understand and conceptionalize the weather, heart surgery, and stomach exhibit was astounding.  Certainly, there were many aspects of the center that are intended for older children or that we were overall disappointing (the maze exhibit), but Landon has come into the age were his little brain is so intrigued and cooperative to grasp onto each detail……a entirely new level of learning!

Can you see the stars?

Keeping his on me (Landon’s eye through the telescope camera).

Discovering rock variations

Landon’s FAVORITE……volcanoes!!  He reassured me, “Don’t worry Mom, this volcano is just pretend.”

 

Carson and Landon wheelchair racing.

Sliding down the giant stomach that gave the boys belly laughs as it burps, gurgles, and farts!!

BFF’s.  In Landon’s words, “Carson’s my best friend, he’s my favorite.”  So sweet!!

Swim Graduation

In  under two weeks, Landon’s swim coach, Miss Carly taught him to swim on his own.  He accelerated so quickly in his swim class, he quickly became the class example of, “Landon show them how to do…….”.  Miss Carly frequently worked extra with Landon building his skills to graduate to the next level  class.  Today’s graduation class was full of games and play, including going down the water slide and jumping off the diving board and popsicles for the finale.

 

He has been dying to go on this slide since he laid eyes on it!

Sliding down with swim coach, Ted.

Walking the diving board plank!

Cannon ball!

Our little man is turning into a little fish.  Now that he knows he can swim (small distances) there is just no holding him back!!

Not Just any Father….

You perform amazing feats of parenting.  You have a huge heart.  You are kind, generous, and supportive. You make us laugh, sing, and dance.  You are loving and calm.  You are the light of our eyes and the silliness in our day.  You are Landon’s hero and my true love. You are you and we love you so very much!! Happy Dada’s Day!!

Summer Fun

Parks and recreation activities will be the keeping us busy this summer.  This month’s itinerary: The Science Club on Mondays and Wednesdays and swim class Monday thru Thursday.  We have planned July with a new variety of fun classes.  Here’s to staying cool and having fun this summer!!!

Working on puzzles at the start of class and one of his art projects, “Measurement Man”.

New York, New York

Oh how we love the big city life!!! Scot and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary in the Big Apple. Five days of just the two of us…….bittersweet, we were nervous and sad leaving our lil’ guy, as we had never been separated this long before.  Landon was in the best hands with my mom, his Ga-a, and they had a hefty, chock full of fun itinerary planned.

The instant we stepped into the airport we were so excited.  A double Bloody Mary and Mimosa by 6:45 am and vacation had begun!!  Manhattan here we come!  Toting the camera everywhere, but photos were few.  Our third time there, we had no desire to grab the touristy pictures of well known sites, just anything new.  Scot and I had the ultimate blast, eating and drinking our way through NYC, walking miles upon miles exploring new and old areas to us into all hours of the night, we splashed through  puddles on the empty streets during a heavy down pour as people pointed and smiled at us acting as kids, got a visit from my brother, sister in law, and niece, and overall had not a care in the world!!!  We stayed at The Manhattan Club in the Theatre District, a perfect location, across from Carnegie Hall, a five minute walk to Central Park or Time Square.  The weather fluctuated between hot and humid to chilly and rainy…..sunshine or not, nothing would keep us inside. 

After stepping off the plane, we were starving.  Not even changing our clothes or unpacking after checking in, we left our room to explore our area.  Settling on French food, we made reservations at Cognac, quickly changed and started our food excursion and self tour of NYC.

Eataly (www.eatalyny.com), the most incredible find and was our favorite stop as soon as we entered.  Their manifesto, “We sell what we cook, and cook what we sell”.  Eataly, a substantial market of decadent foods, that beyond surpasses an AJ’s with several restaurants. Scot and I roamed each aisle appreciating the delicious sells, then ate and sipped wine at the standing tables.  This was by far, my favorite place in NYC……a foodie’s paradise, which we are.

Eataly has several partners, one of which is Mario Batali, Scot’s favorite Food Network chef. 

 

Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club was an accidental and amazing find on Pier 17, as we stumbled upon the fake stretch of beach overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge.  With chilled cocktails in hand and sand between the toes, the hustle and bustle of the city streets is easily forgotten.

Celebrating our anniversary, reservations made over a month ago at Mesa Grill, a restaurant by my favorite chef, Bobby Flay.  Cocktails at the bar, then dined on Bobby’s savory Southwestern cuisine.  The flavors in our dishes were remarkable and Mesa Grill became another fast favorite!

 

Craving Eataly again, we had to go back for more wine and prosciutto. 

 

Roaming “The Village”, we landed at Favela Cubane, a local Cuban cuisine hotspot spot, with live Cuban music, and of course, delectable foods and drinks.

Scot enjoyed a Jalapeño infused Tequila cocktail and I, a classic mojito, as we snacked on fried plantains and chatted with our server on life in “The Village”.

 

Melissa, Vince, and Chloe paid us a visit from Connecticut.  We took Chloe to play at Central Park, FAO Schwartz, then enjoyed some down time catching up. 

Scot and I enjoyed every minute of each day, not skipping a beat for how we used to travel!  We brought home so many memories, inside jokes, and recommendations for NY dining, and considered even moving back east.

Landon had a great time with Ga-a, with only one day when he was sad talking on the phone to us. Ga-a and he made their own memories with their special time together.  She catalogued their days and fun stories for us.  Thank you Mom, for all you did!!  We love you!

Happy Anniversary to us, 10 years and counting!!

Here comes the bride….

My sweet sister, Jenna, is officially tying the knot next July.  Her groom is in the Marines and is scheduled to be home next year.  Fortunately, Jenna has been able to put forth tons of energy and keep busy with planning their big day.  The girls got together for the most important detail……THE DRESS!!!   An appointment made at Suzanne’s Bridal Boutique with plenty of seating for the bride’s entourage.  Champagne, score cards to rate the dresses, tiaras, girl talk and laughter completed our afternoon. 

1st task of my Matron of Honor duties, pour the bride her champagne. Jenna, the bride, Brittany, the groom’s sister, her daughter Emma, and Jeri Barmore, bride’s grandmother.

Waiting anxiously for the bridal gown fashion show!!

My mom and I