JEEPERS

Today was the 2nd week of our summer fun Thursday for Andrew and I. We went to an indoor amusement park in Mesa called Jeepers. It was fun! Andrew ventured on to most of the rides by himself, but I joined him on a few. Here's the monkey barrel ride that he loved to spin. I still have a slight headache from getting dizzy on it... Another spinning ride that Andrew went on by himself. He was a little bummed the worker didn't spin him faster. I told him to tell them to spin him faster next time, but he didn't.
They have a big indoor play area and this is a slide that is made out of tubes so the tubes spin as he slides down. He loved it!
Andrew was a little timid on the bumper cars because I couldn't go with him (it was a one-seater), but after his 2nd time on it, he was more comfortable and said it was his favorite ride.
Andrew rode the roller coaster about 8 times. All it does is go forward really fast and then backwards really fast. There are little hills and dips it goes on, but it just goes in a wide circle. He really loved it though.

Let Me Badger You For A Minute

I received a text message from Jeremy yesterday that said he just came across 3 badgers in the middle of nowhere (Eloy, AZ). I thought that was pretty weird, I didn't think they lived out here, but they do. I googled it.

Anyway, if you don't already know, my dad grew up in Wisconsin and my mom vacationed in Wisconsin every summer since about 1956 and she eventually ended up moving there and marrying my dad. They are big University of Wisconsin (Madison) fans (aka Badger fans). So, I texted my dad to let him know thinking he'd get a kick out of it. He called me later to ask if Jeremy meant badgers as in the animal or as in some football players or students from the University.

Now, on another note, my parents have passed on the badger craziness to Andrew. They once got him pumped up for his soccer game by listening to the U of W marching band all the way from Gilbert to Queen Creek. In fact, when asked what his favorite animal is in preschool, Andrew responded, "the badger." Enough said.

Well, when I told Andrew that daddy saw 3 badgers out in the field Andrew said, "Were they like marching around?" Hahaha! He thought daddy came across the marching band out in the middle of nowhere! Too funny!

New Moon Trailer

<a href="http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2009/" target="_blank">The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Trailer'</a>

The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Trailer'

A Day at the Zoo

For Andrew's first week of summer break, we headed off to the zoo. My sweet mother-in-law bought me a membership to the zoo for this year and it expires in October so I figured I better get some use out of it so it doesn't go to waste.
I have only been to the zoo a couple times and I was never a big fan of all the walking and the heat (it seems whenever I go it's ridiculously hot - I guess that's AZ for you). But, I fought back the negative thoughts and let the positive attitude shine and off we went this morning.
My hope was that kids are still in school so it wouldn't be crowded and it seems that I was correct; it wasn't crowded at all!
Andrew and I ventured around the entire zoo, stopping in the middle to eat our packed lunch and let him play at the water park for about 45 minutes.
We loved seeing all the animals (tiger, lions, elephant, monkeys, wolves, cheetah, giraffes, otter, etc.) and were bummed at the ones that were hiding or hard to see (bear, wallaby, coyotes, etc.).

Taking a rest

It's water time!!!

(He's in the green shorts)

Memorial Memories

On Monday we headed out to Roosevelt Lake for Memorial Day. We went last year, but I did not get any pictures so here is a do-over. We had a ton of fun, got too much sun (just ask my shoulders and Jeremy's back...), and there were a lot more people that came up this year.
Here is Andy and Mindy's boat that was providing non-stop enjoyment for adults and kids of all ages (until it ran out of gas...).

Here's a shot of the bridge. I love that picture. I took a picture of it last year on my cell phone and it's been the background image on my front screen ever since.

Here's Andrew and Mackenzie swimming in the pristine water... Mackenzie was quoted as saying, "I'm allowed to pee in this lake." referring to the time they got stranded out in the middle of the lake and she had no choice but to pee in the lake.

Jeremy watching Ariana and Andrew fish on Andrew's little Cars pole.

My boy and me.

Andrew bringing in a catfish after Ariana brought in a bass of about the same size. I've never seen any prouder parents than Jeremy and Danielle. It was great!

After the water activities and time spent in the sun, we headed back to Globe for some yummy mexican food at Guayo's on the Trail. Our group took up one of the back rooms and it wasn't even half of the people that were out at the lake, I don't think. We helped eliminate the restaurants food supply by eating all the chips and chicken that they had. Most of us had to change our meal selection from chicken to beef (I was one of them, but it turned out for the best - the beef tacos are AWESOME!). Poor Pastor Bill and Kelly came too late to order food since they ran out of everything but rice and beans, but we all shared. Now's not the time to be greedy when the Pastor is hungry!!! Next year we will need to warn them ahead of time (like a week) we're coming or we need to get there earlier than 8:00 pm!

Preschool Program

Last Thursday (May 21st), Andrew had his last day of preschool. Parents and family were invited to come watch their program. Jeremy, me and my parents were able to make it and it was so cute! Andrew did a great job!
Here he is with Ms. Jones. She was such a great teacher and if anyone needs a preschool teacher in the Queen Creek area, let me know!

Here are all the kids in his class. Andrew was bummed that there were no kids' birthdays between August and December so he had to stay seated so long while they were singing the Months of the Year song.

Here's a video of the Days of the Week song. I was surprised Andrew learned the days of the week in Spanish this year! It was so cute to hear them sing in Spanish.

Here's a video of Andrew's part of the production. You may have to turn the volume way up to hear him. He did a great job and practiced really hard to memorize his lines. It wasn't so quiet in person - I'm not sure why it's so quiet on my camera...

Jeremy and I were so excited to see his program and see his progress throughout the year. It's amazing the confidence he has gained from a couple days a week in preschool! He is so ready for Kindergarten and even wants to bypass summer break all together and start school right away.

Twenty-Eight

28 years ago today I was born. Here's 28 things about me:

1. Name: Kara Beth Dalmacio
2. I'm married
3. Mother of 1 child, Andrew (age 5)
4. Favorite color: pink
5. Hobby: scrapbooking and reading
6. Favorite movie: Pride & Prejudice (1995)
7. Favorite book: Twilight series
8. I love going to dinner and a movie on date nights!
9. I enjoy watching Jeremy play sports (basketball, softball, baseball…)
10. Even though I’ll miss him, I look forward to sending Andrew off to school in July.
11. I love to shop for myself, but feel extremely guilty after I buy anything.
12. I really love the elliptical machine at the gym.
13. I HATE HATE HATE sweating. You’d think I’d be oblivious to it since I live in AZ…
14. I need my sleep or I am NOT fun to be around the next day.
15. My house is never clean enough to me.
16. I look forward to paydays even though it usually means we’re broke (again).
17. I hate confrontations and will avoid them at all costs.
18. I really enjoy traveling (especially on a cruise ship).
19. I occasionally ponder what vehicle I will purchase next. Weird, huh?!
20. I really dislike talking on the phone; I prefer texting.
21. I plan on having 3 more kids (by the time I’m 30). Notice I said “I plan.”
22. I love homemade tacos (ask Jeremy’s family).
23. I am a complete control freak in my vehicle (poor Jeremy).
24. I can name the location of pretty much any object of Jeremy’s or Andrew’s that is out of place in the house. Just in case they ask if I’ve seen it.
25. I am not a big fan of getting older. I feel like time is running out sometimes. Scary.
26. I prefer baking to cooking any day!
27. I don’t like my routine to be messed up unless it’s by my own doing.
28. I like talking about myself!

Good times, Good friends, Good news!

It's 6pm on Sunday and I am trying to stay awake for a couple more hours, but I am TIRED! I don't think I got much sleep this weekend and I'm really starting to feel it!
This past Tuesday was fun! I spent the evening with Danielle celebrating our birthdays. Her husband made us appointments for manicures and pedicures at a beauty school in Chandler and Jeremy's gift to us was dinner, so we ate at Shangri-La on Alma School and Elliott. Dinner was yummy and then we headed over to the beauty school that was in the same strip mall. I had never had a manicure (besides getting acrylic nails put on), and I've never had pedicures done at a beauty school. I was really impressed by the whole experience and our finger and toe nails came out beautiful! I'd go back again for sure and the prices are very reasonable!
I also had the chance to ride in a convertible for the first time that night. Danielle drove her little Eclipse and I have to admit it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. However, by the time we got to the restaurant, I was sweating a lot (but I didn't really notice until after I got out of the car). I always thought my hair would be all over the place and it wasn't (but I had it pulled back in a pony tail), and I always thought I'd feel really unsafe like flying objects would nail me; like bugs, debris, or other vehicles if we got in a wreck. Luckily nothing like that happened and we arrived to our appointment and back home safely.
Saturday morning (yesterday), we went over to Schnepf Farms for the Peach Festival. We met up with Gail, Kristi, Steve, Dustin, Tess, and Mikey at 7:30 am. We ate pancakes with peaches and whip cream on them and were joined by Taylor, Erin, Quinten, and Barrett. The kids played at the park for a little bit before we headed out to the orchards to pick peaches. It was super hot and I couldn't wait to be done and go home. We got our measly box of peaches (only $6 worth because last year we bought a lot and a lot went to waste).
Jeremy had to book it to his golf tournament and he took Andrew with him. I was able to squeeze in an hour nap before getting ready and heading over to April's house.
April and I went to Central Christian Church in Mesa to see Wm. Paul Young (author of, The Shack) be interviewed by the senior pastor of Central. April and I were really impressed with the interview and were so glad we were able to hear him explain the book and the story behind the story. We were surprised that we were also blessed in different ways by some of the things he spoke about in his own life and spiritual walk with God.
We booked it outta there to drive out to Surprise (aka the complete opposite side of the state) to see the Globe Tigers vs. Wickenburg in the 3A State baseball championship game. April's brother-in-law, David is the head coach so it's always great to see someone you know coaching young kids and being so successful at it! Globe won the game 4-2 and it was amazing! Very close for most of the game so I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Also, where we were sitting had the potential to get hit by foul balls from the left handed batters so Jeremy constantly reminded me to 'pay attention dang it' whenever a left handed batter was up and I was chit chatting with Mindy. Only one ball came our way and I was OK because I WAS paying attention (dang it).
Anyway, good times it was, of course! I was so proud of David because he's obviously worked really well with those boys and all his effort really paid off!
Today was a typical Sunday. Get up early, run around getting ready, being late to help teach the kids at the school, show up to service a tad late, out to eat with friends, then home (well, this Sunday, Jeremy filled in for the co-ed softball team at 3:00 and now he's working on people's yards while Andrew and I are at home).
I heard some awesome news from my friend today that she is expecting her 3rd child in November and her story is so inspiring of how God works! She has been trying for quite a while to get pregnant with her third and discovered she does not ovulate. Her doctor said he would put her on a low dosage of a fertility drug. She filled the prescription and was supposed to begin taking the pills with her next cycle. Wouldn't you know it, the cycle never came because God decided to show her the awesomeness of His powers before any medication could be given credit for His doing!!!!! She was already pregnant! I say AMEN to that and it will always be a reminder to me that God can do anything at anytime He wants and it's sad to think that we sometimes won't give Him credit for the stuff He does for us. It's made me realize that I want to remember to give credit to Him for all He does for me and my family because I realize how easy it is to think, "oh the doctor did this", or "the medicine I took allowed this", etc.
Let that sink in for a bit.
On that note. Good night!

Momma's Day

This weekend was Mother's Day weekend. By the way, when did Mother's Day turn in to Mother's Day Weekend anyway? Has anyone else noticed that? Not that I'm complaining that I can claim a weekend to being spoiled and having the world revolve around me or anything (wink), but I've been noticing over the past few years that Mother's Day is an entire consummation of a weekend and it's dang stressful at times!
Here we are desperately trying to figure out a balance between spending time with my wonderful mom and Jeremy's wonderful mom - all the while having my own selfishness kick in and want to spend some time doing something for myself. It definitely takes up an entire weekend. (Then we have the non-mothers and single people at my work in charge of social events schedule a company picnic that same weekend - I'm just saying).
Anyway, I was able to see my mom Saturday afternoon/evening, but stupid me forgets a card and the picture I was going to give her because I was running around that morning getting ready for the above mentioned picnic. Where are my priorities?! Really?!
Yesterday, Jeremy made me a ham and cheese omelet and toast and I was late for church because I'm not used to eating breakfast. Whoops! Andrew made me a super cute card of our house on the front and our backyard on the back. It was very detailed (including the hammock and BBQ grill) and along the sidewalk he wrote Happy Mother's Day.
My other gift was a nap after church! That was the best!!!! I even got the upstairs to my self. Jeremy and Andrew took naps on the downstairs couch.
We had dinner at Kristi's yesterday so we could spend time with Gail. Again, I forgot the picture I was going to give her, but luckily Jeremy made her a card yesterday during his youth group, so she at least got something.
It was a nice weekend; not the most stressful Mother's Day weekend I've had and that's about all I can ask for at this point in our busy lives.
I hope all you other momma's had a nice segment of time devoted just to yourselves to unwind and de-stress!

What's New You Ask?

I left off with Easter... Hmmm what have I done since then?
I took a trip up to Heber the weekend after Easter with 8 other girls for a fun time of scrapbooking and relaxation (and by relaxing I mean stressin' about what to put on what page and stressin' about getting pages completed in our albums before we have to come back to real life). We had a GREAT time, as usual (that was our 3rd annual trip).
Jeremy and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on April 24th by going to Carrabba's for dinner and watching 17 Again with Zac Efron and Matthew Perry. It was a funny movie! We really enjoyed our date and agree that it doesn't feel like it's been very long since we've been married. I guess that's a good thing, huh?!
We were invited by our concert buddies, Dallas and Kayla, to see Third Day and Brandon Heath at Celebrity Theatre last week. That was Jeremy and my first time seeing both of them. The concert was absolutely fun, of course! We didn't get home and to bed until 12:45 and I had to wake up at 4:45. Yuck, but poor Jeremy was at work by the time I woke up at 4:45.
We had our last soccer game as coaches this past Saturday. I am glad for that! I enjoyed coaching, but I was getting a little tired of the practices especially (having to figure out what drills and games to do). It was time for a break. I will probably not coach again, but it was fun to get the experience.
My friend Selene came out to our house Friday night and stayed the night to come to Andrew's last game Saturday. It's been awhile since she'd been out here. We had a nice time catching up and watching both Bridget Jones movies. I LOVE those movies! So funny!
That pretty much brings you up to speed on what's new for now.

Easter Events

Jeremy and I finally had Easter at our house again this year (we skipped last year because we had a dirt backyard and that didn't seem very fun for the kids to "find" eggs in). I was determined to be ready early this year! No more of this last minute stuffing eggs with candy, still cooking when people got here, nothing out and set up (aka people hunting for silverware, cups, plates, soap for the bathroom).
I warned Jeremy the entire week leading up to Easter, "Don't make ANY plans for Saturday. You are going to be getting the yard ready for Easter."
It worked! He didn't make any other plans except to clean the yard. He even mowed the yard Friday! That's not like him! I thought surely he was trying to finish the yard early so he could play softball or something Saturday night, but nope, he was just on the ball!
Good thing he mowed the yard Friday because it rained all day Saturday! It made for pulling weeds easier though! However, at one point, it was so bad that we had to go eat lunch at Barro's while he waited for the downpour to stop. When we came out from lunch, it was sunny pretty much for the rest of the day.
I had to get on his case a few times for playing catch too long with Andrew or sitting on the patio chair too long. (This is 'too long' in my definition, of course, which probably means longer than 2 minutes). I know, I'm a nag!
Jeremy completed everything he needed to do with a few hours to spare! I, however, did not complete my chores. But, in my defense, I was waiting to mop the floors until Sunday morning so the yard had time to dry out a little - I was trying to avoid dog paw print marks on my floor.
Everything worked out though! We had the food ready, plates, cups, silverware, bathroom stocked, patio chairs/tables set up and ready to eat by 3:00 (which was our goal). It was amazing! I was actually able to enjoy Easter and not run around like a chicken with my head cut off because I didn't prepare.
We all had a good time and the food was yummy! The only bummer of the day was Brad broke his collar bone playing with the other boys! That was terrible for him and we all felt so sorry for him! Poor kid!
On a funnier note - I was putting together Andrew's Easter basket in my closet while he napped on Saturday (or so I thought) when I hear footsteps appear at the closet. "Hi mommy." his sleepy voice says. His Easter basket stuff is strewn all about on the floor and I jump up yelling, "Don't look! Don't look!" as I try to pile up the toys/candy to avoid him seeing anything. I run out of the closet and close the door, but I was pretty sure it was too late.
I tell him that daddy has been waiting for him to wake up so he can help him again in the yard and I usher him out front. I finally sneak back upstairs and finish assembling his Easter basket, hide it good, and go out front.
I'm curious to see if Andrew saw anything so I ask him what he saw and he says, "Star Wars toys," (yup) "I saw a movie." (yup). I ask him which movie he hopes it was and he says, "Madagascar. Or Madagascar 2, but I saw that it was Kung Fu Panda." (yup and bummer that it wasn't one he hoped for).
So, he thinks that mommy and daddy get him toys in case the Easter bunny doesn't come. When he opened his basket Sunday he kept asking, "Is this from you or from the Easter bunny?" So, he thinks the chalk, baseball bat and balls, and candy are from the Easter bunny and the toys and movie are from us.
But, he was really excited about the Star Wars toys and he said, "you are the best mommy!" so it was nice to get credit back from the Easter bunny! Hahaha!

Long Anticipated Update-I'm Sure

It's been awhile - I know! I've been wanting to blog a lot, but I'm having problems with my cheap camera and it doesn't seem very fun to post about stuff if I don't have pictures to go along with it.

Jeremy did a great job on his last post, but I thought I'd add some pictures of the fabulous dinner he made. Orange chicken, brown rice, and egg rolls. Yum!

Here's the desserts I made. Chocolate covered strawberries and sugar cookies.

On February 28th, we headed up to Globe for an Alumni baseball game. I had a great time watching this game as I've never seen Jeremy play baseball before. His back was really messed up, but he still did a good job! He started out in right field, but was soon moved to pitcher. It was great to see him pitch and I thought he did a great job!

Here's an interesting behind-the-fence shot of Jeremy pitching to Josh.

OK, now what's new? I am coaching Andrew's soccer team this season. It's actually fun! The kids are good! 7 out of 9 have played at least one season and they are awesome! They really know how to play defense and they are pretty good at keeping the ball in bounds. That's a drastic difference from Andrew's team last season.

We've finished our backyard and as soon as I can get the camera to work (or buy a new camera), I'll take pictures. It turned out great! Jeremy owes his friends BIG TIME for all the help they gave him throughout the process!

Jeremy is in a Monday night basketball league and another softball season is starting on Saturday. That'll keep us busy along with work, church, preschool, and soccer.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

This is an official hi-jack of Kara's blog.

Last week in review

Saturday Feb 14.

AAhhh Valentines day. There's nothing like running to Fry's in the morning while Kara's at the gym to look for something.. anything to get the love of my life something so thoughtful and sentimental that it would just melt her heart away. HHmmm - melt - chocolate melts - she loves chocolate- Reese's miniature cups! I can't believe it took me so long to think of something so precious and meaningful in our relationship. Then I cook for her and we watch a movie. Pride and Prejudice... Garnetski would be so proud of me. (for Non-Globites he was the 12th grade english teacher from Globe that would wear shirts with flames on them half way buttoned down while he stared at mckay, dusty, and I licking his lolipop) It was a good movie and Kara and I had a good time talking with our English accents for the rest of the night.

Sunday Feb 15th

Rise and shine it's time to go teach the youth at our church about hugs and kisses. If you ever wanted to feel like an old man really fast talk to today's youth about why it's better to save yourself for marriage. That's right this was supposed to be a discussion about hugs and kisses and by the end of the lesson I was trying to explain it's not okay for two people who just like each other to get it on. After sunday school and a word from PB we had our usual lunch with the Meskill's and whoever else shows up to eat with us (always interesting and informative my IQ goes up every time I hang out with J & A. Then the highlight of our Valentines weekend . . . Confessions of a Shopaholic, lets just skip the review and move on to Monday.

Monday Feb 16th

Uneventful day at the office. Then dinner at Chili's to benefit the C.P.C.C.F. Ciara Porter Cheer Competition Foundation. She is a great little girl and if anyone would like to make a donation to help her out tell Kara.

Tuesday Feb 17th

Another fun day at work drinking coffee and Rock stars. I think this was the day I went to Globe for a little bit and worked and had some delicious LP's. Then we watched fireproof (see Kara's blog about 2 months ago for more info) it was fun and I especially enjoyed the company of friends.

Wed. Feb 18th

We all show up at the office early to do our cleaning chores and after getting some great instructions I was able to get the toilets pretty clean and now I know why Kara and my mom HATE cleaning them so much.... it's pretty bad. Then we had a study night after work where we all study about surveying to try and gain more knowledge because when this recessions over our company goal is to to be head and shoulders above any remaining survivors!! I probably take my job a little too seriously

Thursday Feb 19th

Office day. Showed up 30 minutes late which really stinks because according to the rules of one of the 30 office bets I got going, I'm at $1 a minute for tardiness. Spent most of the day bidding jobs for prospective clients. "Bidding these jobs is like a game of cards" my friend/boss says as we go over the numbers, this statement becomes much more relevant in tomorrows post.

Friday Feb 20th

MSHA Training day. Now for all of you non miners MSHA stands for Mining Safety and Health Administration and yes an 8 hour refresher course on mine safety is as boring as it sounds. But as usual if you mix in a few antics with a sudoku challenge, it becomes manageable. oh yeah and if any of you ever hear about Talmage getting hurt at the mines don't feel to sorry for him he was falling asleep during most of the Safety Hazard of working at the mines!! Oh and about my good friend Taylor, I guess i need to start CHEATING when I bid jobs because playing the card game Phase 10 is no fun when someone hides all the wild cards under their chair!!!!! P.S. Kimmers i was winning before all the shenanigans took place.

-jeremy

Happy Love Day!

Well, Andrew's last t-ball game is over and I've done my time at the gym. Now I'm relaxing, listening to the far off voices of 4 crazy boys downstairs (yes, Jeremy is included in that).
Last night we celebrated Josh's 26th birthday by surprising him at his house. Mindy did a great job setting everything up and preparing all the delicious Adobo! I am not a big fan of surprise parties, but you only have to endure them occasionally, right? Jeremy and Kyle had Josh at Native New Yorker with the plan that they were coming back to Coolidge to get ready for karaoke with Danny. But, SURPRISE; no karaoke, just a fun-filled night at home with all your crazy family, friends, and a whole bunch of kids! Josh seemed really excited though and his present from Mindy was Rock Band 2 which we all fought over playing all night.
We took Dustin and Christopher home with us to stay the night with Andrew. They came to Andrew's t-ball game and they are now cleaning up the toys strewn all about so we can take them home.
Jeremy is going to make orange chicken and egg rolls for dinner and we'll have chocolate covered strawberries for dessert while watching Pride and Prejudice. I've heard one is better than the other. I'm hoping the older one (1995) is better than the newer one (2005) because that's the one I rented.
Tomorrow we are planning to eat at Red Lobster and see Confessions of a Shopaholic if it works out.
I was just informed yesterday that I have Monday off for President's Day. I'm not sure what to do with myself, besides clean the house, but I'm so excited to not wake up early Monday!
I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day and a great weekend!

New Update - No Pictures

This weekend was a nice weekend. Friday night was spent at Queen Creek H.S. watching JV Basketball beat Higley H.S. We went to support Matt Jones who Jeremy once assisted in coaching. Jeremy was upset when I made him leave before the Varsity game. To my defense, Andrew and I were starving, and I forgot he drove separately. After we were outside and I realized we were in separate vehicles I tried to make him go back in for the game, but he insisted that he wanted to leave. I could tell otherwise though.
Jeremy woke up early and played basketball in Coolidge then made it home for Andrew's t-ball game. We enjoyed the game, of course, but it was a little windy/chilly. Jeremy dropped me off at the YMCA so I could work out and he and Andrew went to pick up Brysen so he could stay the night.
I had a few hours before Mica and Brendon's baby shower so I was able to take my time getting ready, picking out a gift at Walmart and heading over to Kayla's house. That's one of my FAVORITE things by the way - having enough time to take my time. Does that make sense?
I was only able to stay at the baby shower for an hour before meeting up with Selene for dinner and a movie. We shared a pizza at California Pizza Kitchen and saw Paul Blartt, Mall Cop. It was a funny movie despite the waitress at CPK telling us the movie wasn't good. We got some good laughs in and had too much popcorn, candy, and soda (as usual)! It's always fun to have a night like that every now and then!
Meanwhile, Jeremy snuck off to play softball with Josh Porter and fed the boys Long John Silvers and Trail mix to bribe them to be good while he played. It worked and the boys had fun. He had them ready for bed when I got back home. I would've been none the wiser about his softball night except he told me about it.
We headed to the school to help/teach the church kids, then went to service and heard a sermon on Ephesians 5:22-33 just in time for Valentine's Day. Jeremy learned it is 'cheaper to keep her' and I learned that it is, in fact, OK to hit him upside the head with my purse if he even looks at another woman. More seriously I learned that the Bible calls me to submit to my husband, but the Bible also calls Jeremy to love me as Christ loved the church. AKA: unconditionally. Spouses should love each other unconditionally. Not for what they look like, act like, or for who they are right now (what sin they may have in their lives now), but for who God is going to make them.
After service, we headed out to Paradise Bakery for lunch. The food is soooo good! (Not to mention the cookies. Oops I mentioned them). Then Andrew had a birthday party to attend at a park. It was COLD! Windy, cold, miserable. It didn't phase the kids, of course. They just ran around enjoying themselves - snot-noses and all! We adults had a good time huddling together and chatting, too, I must admit. We were better about hiding our snot-noses though.
Once we got home, I couldn't warm up! I changed into sweatpants, a long sleeved shirt, and cozy socks. Andrew was in bed by 7:50 and I finally warmed up about 8:00 and quickly crashed. It was nice to sleep so much! I feel ready to tackle what the week will bring. Which includes:

• four days at the gym (hopefully)
• Home Group about LOVE on Tuesday
• Income Tax filing possibly Wednesday
• Andrew preschool Tuesday/Thursday and Valentine party Thursday
• Andrew's last t-ball practice Thursday and game Saturday
• Valentine's Day Saturday (planning to stay home thus far)
• laundry, cleaning the house, working, all the usual you know.

I wonder if people are going to be staying in for V-day this year... We are leaning toward that ourselves anyway.

Weekend Update

This weekend was a fun one! We had Andrew's t-ball game at 9 am on Saturday. Jeremy ran the London's Run in Queen Creek (10k) so he was a little late, but he made it for the last inning to help Andrew on first base (Andrew's favorite position). I took a picture of Andrew posing before we left for the game. He looked like a little professional ball player - I couldn't resist. It's ironic that Andrew loves playing first base because he's a bit scared of the ball. I think it's the most exciting position so he doesn't get in trouble with us for not paying attention. Also, he really likes to throw the ball back to the coach. That's Andrew's buddy, Josh, next to him. Once Jeremy put the tee all the way up and hit the ball super far and Josh was amazed at the hit. His mom says he tells everyone about Andrew's dad's hit at t-ball.

After t-ball Andrew got to go play at Grandpa and Grandma's house. He talked them into taking him to Walgreen's to buy a toy. He ended up with the toy he wanted and a Power Ranger set. SPOILED (only grandchild). Jeremy and I were able to make it to the gym and to Applebee's before picking Andrew up and heading over to Ridley's 3rd birthday party.

Jade, Andrew, and Ridley as various characters - Power Ranger, Spiderman, Darth Vader/Superman. They had a good time and so did us adults, as usual!

Sunday had Jeremy and I cooking chili for the Chili Cook-off/Super Bowl Party at the church. I made my usual chili and Jeremy concocted a pork green chili. Neither of us won. In fact, I'm not sure who won because I left right after half-time. I wasn't interested in seeing the Cardinals lose. I heard it got exciting, but with the end result of them not winning, I don't feel like I missed anything.

Fireproof doesn't mean that there will never be a fire. It means that your marriage won't burn down because of the fire.

Yesterday Jeremy and I had the chance to have a nice night in just the two of us! Andrew was staying the night with Tess and Jeremy was able to get off of work early. He met me at the gym and then we headed to Walmart for a movie and some stuff for dinner.
We enjoyed spaghetti and watched Fireproof and then had some cookies for dessert.
It was so fun to have that time with him!
Fireproof is a GREAT movie, too! Very encouraging to couples who know Christ, as well as those that do not. The music in the movie was awesome - I remember hearing Third Day and one of my favorite Casting Crowns songs (Slow Fade).
The movie's point was that you will never know how to really love until you understand the love God has for us. A God that sends his only Son to die for the forgiveness of our sins is real love! I know I didn't know how to fully appreciate or love my husband until I had the love of Christ revealed to me. Not that Jeremy and I had many problems before we came to Christ, but I have no doubt they would've arose at some point and we may have found ourselves facing divorce. We will still have problems in our marriage, like anyone else, but hopefully we will remember to turn it all over to God and He can see us through it.

Pre-order Twilight

Click here to pre-order the Twilight DVD from Amazon. The DVD will be released Sat., March 21st according to StephenieMeyer.com.

New Year's Eve

We spent New Year's Eve in Globe at Jeremy's Uncle Mike and his wife Sonya's house.

Erin and Taylor joined us.

Here's Grandma Tassie and Gail.

Here's the prettiest baby ever - Kami!

"Ooooh" "Aaaahhh" "Is the cops coming???" Watching some fireworks out front after midnight.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

Well, Santa did make it to our house. Andrew got a stocking full of candy and his Iron Man and Batman toys that he asked for.

This is just the beginning of the piles of gifts he is to receive this day.

Here he is so excited for all the candy!

Besides the pile of toys he opened at our house, here is another pile of toys at Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Randy's house!

Here's Jesus' birthday cake we made for Aunt Kiki and Uncle Steve's house.

Here are the kids so excited to get more toys! (Tess, Jordan, Brad, Aaron, Christopher, and Andrew has his hood on his head).

I should've took a picture of the last stack of toys he received for Christmas, but I just took this picture of his glowing face. I had to buy more toy storage for Andrew's room after this Christmas!