Phoenix Children's Museum

Another thing we knew we wanted to do during our time in Phoenix was visit the Children's Museum downtown.  It's rated one of the top 10 museums in the country, and it did not disappoint!  The kids had a blast!  I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves... :)

The dads had about as much fun as the kids!  They especially loved the musical features.  When they were playing the tubes with the flip flops, several people came to watch, and one director even took a video and asked their permission to post it on the museum's facebook page. :)

The babies didn't get to do a whole lot, but give them a year or two and they'll be all over the place next time we go!

Fun in the Arizona sun

While in Arizona, Annalece and I were put in charge of finding fun things to do, preferably things we couldn't do back home in Utah.  The first thing we decided on was Goldfield Ghost Town in Apache Junction.  With David's love of history and two little boys, we knew we couldn't go wrong.  

We took at train ride around the town and learned all about Superstition mountain and the old mining legends.

Then we got to see all the cool old cowboy things.  It was such a fun little town with so many neat things to see.  We ate a yummy lunch, got some ice cream, and left with some hot sauce and a salsa recipe book. :)  I'd say it was a good little trip!

The only thing that made it possible to tear the boys away was the promise to go swimming back at Javi's apartment complex. :)  Swimming outside in February?!  Yes, in Arizona.  I couldn't believe it.

That night we made plans to meet up for dinner, but on the way David got distracted (very unlike him) and rear-ended Javi!  He crunched their bumper pretty good, and completely ruined ours, as well as the radiator and a couple other engine-related things.  So while we were planning on just staying until David's meetings were over Wednesday, we had to have our car in the shop and wait a few days until we could drive it again and make it back home.  Of all the places to be stranded, being stuck in Arizona really wasn't a bad thing!  I have to admit none of us really minded it staying a few extra days.  And Annalece and Javi were  really good sports about it all, thank goodness.   At least David was their agent and was able to take care of things pretty easily. :)

We spent one morning walking around Tempe Lake and the downtown area.  It was amazing to walk around in sandals and short sleeves.  The boys were in heaven!

David loved every second he got to spend with Javi.  Javi's work schedule as a news reporter for Telemundo allowed him to do things with us in the morning, and then he'd leave after lunch and be gone until late at night.  So our mornings with Javi were special.

We walked up and down Mill Street and ate at a yummy Greek restaurant for lunch.  David spent so much time in Tempe during his State Farm training that he felt quite at home.  He's probably been to Arizona close to 20 times!  He loved getting to show Javi and the kids around his old "stomping grounds."

Mesa memories

At the beginning of February, David got the chance to go down to Arizona for some meetings with State Farm and he took us all with him!  It could not have come at a better time!  We were SOOO ready for some sunshine, warm weather and fresh air!  And we were really excited to get to spend some time with Javi and Annalece!  They'd just moved down to Phoenix at the first of January and were nice enough to let us all stay with them.  We got there on a Saturday and planned to just stay for a few days, but David rear-ended Javi on our way to dinner Monday night and we had to stay some extra days while we waited for our car to be fixed. :)  I have to admit, none of us really minded all that much.  Arizona in the winter is FABULOUS!  By the end of the week we were all convinced we wanted to move there.  I mean, look at what Owie could wear to church - in February!  Granted, the Arizonians were in pants and jackets, but we were perfectly warm in the 70 degree weather.

Loving the green grass.

We wanted to show the kids the Mesa Temple, so we headed over there before church.  Here's Javi and sweet Celine.  So cute!

We loved seeing all the cool palm trees.

Bryan, looking so grown up...

And these two... not so much. :)  Matt's face says it all.

 The citrus trees were amazing!  It all felt so exotic!

We ended up missing the Spanish branch we were hoping to attend, but we eventually made it to a Sacrament meeting somewhere in Mesa.  It was refreshing going to a meeting outside of Utah for a change.

Back home the cousins had fun getting to know each other a bit better.  Celine was nice enough to share her space and her toys with us!

Here are some cute cousin pics from a little later in the week.  Just in the time we were there Celine learned how to clap and babble and eat puffs. :)  She certainly had a thing or two to show Owen!  It was a lot of fun to see them all together.  We love cousins!

All about Owen - 10 months and growing fast

In a couple days Owen will be 10 months old!  He's not going to be my baby much longer. :(  He's doing things every day that make me realize he's growing up way to fast.  So I can remember as much as possible from this sweet baby stage, here are some things about him from these last couple months.

• He loves to play with my hair, especially when he's nursing.  Sometimes he just softly plays with the ends and other times he yanks it all over the place!  I feel bad pulling it up though as it seems to have become a comfort thing for him.
• We know when he's excited because he'll bounce up and down or inhale sharply, like a squealy backwards laugh. :)
• He likes to make noises with his tongue (clucking sound) or by smacking his lips together. David likes to think it's his "besitos" sound.
• He says "mamama" when he's sad and ready to eat, and sometime's he'll say a breathy "papa" when prompted.
• He waves goodbye ("adios") by opening and closing his outstretched hand, especially to David.
• For the most part he goes to sleep well with his pacifier and white noise - ocean waves are the current favorite.  He likes to sleep with his bum in the air and his forehead down with his hands up around his ears. :)  He's still waking for a late-night feeding, and I don't have the heart to cut it out quite yet...
• He loves taking baths!  He started taking big-boy baths in the real bath tub a month or two ago and has so much fun splashing and chewing on all the toys.  These pictures are from around Christmas time so they're a little old, but I love his big smiles!

 

• He had his first big-boy haircut shortly after Christmas.  He was sporting a pretty good mullet, so it was about time.  He handled the clippers well - love the oh-so-serious face in the first pic. :) 

• He is not the greatest eater, as far as baby food goes.  I'm sure that's partly my fault, since I seldom have the patience to sit and try to get him to eat the purees.  He loves his finger foods, though, and he REALLY liked this apple I let him try a few weeks ago.  He sucked on the juice and gnawed at it with his little tooth that had started coming in.  (He has just two little teeth now, but I can see a couple more getting ready to come in.)  He likes bananas and avocados as well, but they're a lot messier!

• He is all over the place!  He started crawling on his hands and knees a few weeks ago  and he is one busy little boy!  I can hardly keep track of him, and now it's always a challenge to keep things off the floor and out of his mouth.  If I ever see him with his lips clamped shut I know he's got something.

(I love this little picture.  He looks like such a big boy sitting there - reminds me of Matty.)

(Little bruise from pulling a stool down on his head.)

• He also started pulling himself up a month or so ago, which means we had to quickly lower his crib.  He thinks he's pretty hot stuff pulling himself up these days.  He's even started walking around things a little bit and today he was walking with Ari and pushing the toy shopping cart.  Crazy!  Slow down, O!  I'm not ready for so much so fast.

• He continues to be as chill as ever - just the sweetest, easy-going baby boy.  He patiently tags along as I'm running kids from one place to another or helping in their classes at school.  I couldn't ask for a better little buddy.  We love our Little O!