12 X 12 - January 2013

Just recently I was hearkening back to the days when Sadie would come into our room in the middle of the night to sleep with us. It hadn't happened for a few months so I believed those days were over.

 Apparently not!

 Just this past week she has shown up at my side of the bed around 1 am wanting to get in. I believe the blame rests with her new pillow pet. The pillow pet, added to her old pillow, places her head in an upright position that looks uncomfortable and I am positive ends up waking her up!

Anyway....Saturday morning was one of the mornings she ended up waking up in my bed:



(FYI: The last two nights I have secretly pulled the pillow pet out from under her head before I go to sleep and she has slept through the night!)

Breakfast remnants of hot chocolate and toast:



While cleaning up breakfast I spied Tucker in his very favorite place in the house to sit. Propped up on a pillow, with his paws over the side of the couch:



Then I had my breakfast/lunch of champions:



Diet Coke, chocolate twizzlers, and peanuts.

After eating it was clean-up time! With school, homework and activities, my kids really don't do a very good job of keeping their rooms clean during the week, so Saturday morning is often a time of deep cleaning for them.



Sade and I making macaroni and cheese for lunch:



Meg and Sade doing a little early afternoon dancing:



After lunch Jackson and I headed to Target to buy a present for a birthday party he was going to that afternoon. The toy aisles were empty! They have lots of toys on clearance and obviously have not restocked since Christmas:



Also, I had no idea January was such a big birthday month! At least one of my kids has had (or will have) one party to go to every Saturday this month.

After I arrived home Megan and Sadie braved the cold weather and took Tucker out for a long walk:



Happily they ran into other neighborhood friends on their walk which I am sure made the cold more bearable.

I then picked up Jackson from his party, picked up pizza for the kids, and took my boyfriend out to dinner after he arrived home from work. Buca di Beppo:



We tried their new steak parmigiana, which I thought was flavorless and gross. Luckily the chicken carbonara was as good as always.

Bill paying:



After dinner we stopped at the mall to do a little returning. I had received (per my request) lounge wear clothing from the Pink store for Christmas. I was thrilled! But then sad to discover that those lounge pants are not made for someone my size. I have never minded being short, but a couple of extra inches would have been helpful in this situation. That store is a bit pricey so I am consoling myself with the thought I am saving so much money by not fitting into their clothes.

While at the mall I also picked up a new case for my phone!



I was reluctant to get an iPhone. I believed it was unnecessary and that I wouldn't use it. It turns out I was completely wrong! I adore it probably more than is healthy.

After the mall we came home, got the kids ready for bed, I prepared my primary lesson and Eric went to the airport to pick up Todd and Mallory (my brother and sister in law) who were getting back from a cruise and were spending the night with us before heading back to Arizona on Sunday.

Good day.

Adventure Angles Activity - Ice Skating

Our Adventure Angels activity for January was ice skating at the Venetian. We had a decent sized group this time:  

I love to ice skate and was quite excited to go. Before leaving I had read that it wasn't real ice but rather a polycarbonate (high quality plastic) rink. Not knowing what to expect I wasn't too worried UNTIL I got on the fake ice. It was super hard for me to adjust to!

 Some pics:



Amanda, Me, Rachael



Tia, Me



Our group on the ice:



I have bruised knees to remind me of this activity for weeks to come.

Spring Preserving & Winter Flowers

No school vacation would be complete without an excursion to the Springs Preserve. This time to see The Palace Of Exotic Wonders! (FYI: The new exhibit is only open through Jan. 13th if you want to see it).

The exhibit it filled with freaky insects and spiders from around the world:



Sade preparing herself for the flash flood exhibit:



I had never noticed this particular hand placement before this trip:



Jackson saying, "Excuse me sir, excuse me. Do you know where we're going?"



The weather was pleasant so we spent a lot of time at the outside exhibits and then on the playground:

 

After leaving the Preserve, we had lunch at Wendy's (my very favorite fast food) and then went to the Bellagio to see their winter/Christmas display:



We felt that it was seriously sub-par to the way it has been in past:



But still good to see.




I do believe this marks the end of our Chritmas festivities.

Bucket List Item #1

When constructing my bucket list last year the first thing I wrote down was:

SEE THE EAGLES IN CONCERT!

I love the Eagles.

My two favorite songs of all time are, "Life In The Fast Lane", and "Take It Easy" (which you may remember mentions Winslow, AZ, the destination of Bucket List Item #16!).

So when I heard the Eagles were coming on December 30th, I knew I had to purchase tickets.

I have been to a lot of concerts in my day, mostly in my high school and college years, so I know the scene. Generally lots of standing, dancing, partying, and crowd singing.

This wasn't quite the same.

Although I did catch a few whiffs of marijuana, there was not much standing or crowd singing. And most of the dancing was performed seated.

Since I was -7 and Eric was +1 when the Eagles released their first album we were decidedly some of the youngest concert goers there.

As we took our seats, the 4 people behind us who were in their late 70's or 80's complained loudly and cantankerously that us younguns' were probably standers and would block their view.

It was hilarious, and kind of joyous to be considered younguns' at ages 35 and 42.

Soon The Eagles took to the stage, and I didn't stop smiling for the next 2 hours.




See those teeny-tiny dots on the stage? That's them.



Maybe next time I will spring for the $1000 floor seats.

I love a concert and this one did not disappoint. They sang all of their hits, including my two favorite songs. I have them on video and was going to upload them for everyone to hear, but sadly blogger is not allowing me too.

Sniff, sniff.

So instead I will spread cheer by posting self-portraits of Eric and I at the show.



These self-portraits really annoyed the unfriendly concert goers behind us.

I was tempted to turn around and tell them that they had also really annoyed me with their excessive talk about how Mexicans have ruined our country!

Did I mention that one of them was from Canada and thereby a transplant himself?

 But instead of confrontation I'll just complain about them here.

It was another dream come true.





Modeling our new Eagles t-shirts purchased at the show:



2012 was a dream realizing year for me. I was able to complete 5 of my bucket list items!

Bucket List Item #6: Meet Phil Vassar. Click here to see.

Bucket List Item #17: Hold A Snake. Click here to see.

Bucket List Item #16: Stand On A Corner In Winslow, AZ. Click here to see.

Bucket List Item #21: Learn To Trapeze. Click here to see.

and

Bucket List Item #1: See The Eagles In Concert.

I know 2013 will be a dream realizing year too.

Sadie's 5th Birthday Celebration

I lobbied real hard for Sade to have a birthday party this year, but she was totally not into the idea. She informed me that she would much rather go to Circus Circus, so I caved.

Before going, she opened her presents:



Megan gave her this Birthday Princess crown:



She also received a pillow pet, dream light, aqua doodle, money, princess items (make-up, dolls), clothing and games:



After present opening Sade chose to eat at Cici's pizza (gag):



And then we headed to the Adventuredome! Upon arriving I made the mistake of riding two spinning rides in a row and fantasized about throwing up for at least an hour afterward. I'm sure Cici's didn't help things.

Ride riding:






Sade's favorite ride: The Frog Hopper. She rode it 8 times in a row:



Annoyed with me for taking her picture:



After the water ride:



After a few hours we left to attend Eric's Friday night soccer game and then headed home for doughnuts (Sadie's request instead of cake):




Sade was a little extra bossy on her 5th birthday, and Eric and I do believe was a bit drunk with power.

We love that girl.

Happy 5th Birthday Sadie!!!!!