365: WEEK 8

Another week completed. Sometimes this project makes me feel as if my life is boring or uneventful - which is slightly humorous as I have five children so you would think life is never boring or uneventful. I strive to take photos that depict our day, but some days I have to get creative. That means that some photos are just down-right random. Go with it. My favorite image of the week: February 21st - Library Books. This was my first attempt at returning to our weekly library routine. I have to admit, it went pretty dang well. Yes my kids wandered here and there a bit. And yes my little girl pulled various books off of the shelves. But OVERALL, they were great. I didn't even stage this image; they just sat next to one another and read the books I handed them. I also like the Swings photo. It was sister's first time on the swings. She OBVIOUSLY loved it.

365: WEEK 7

Many ups and downs this last week. Started the week off with being sick. I could hardly stand. The mr. came home from work early to help out with the kids, but ended up feeling as sick as I did. We were useless. The kids, on the other hand, were 100% healthy. And bouncing off the walls. Luckily, it was a 24 hour thing. We were able to pick up where we left off the following day, which is a good thing as I had a lot of Valentine's Day activities for the littles. My favorite image of the week: February 15th - Dysfunctional Superheroes. These kids. They are HILARIOUS. I was trying to get a good (read: smiling) picture of all five, but this is what I got instead. So much better than I could have ever imagined.

GILBERT TEMPLE

The mr. and I had originally planned to visit the Gilbert temple with my mom a week ago, but things just didn't work out. We decided to pass on taking a tour since we were cutting it close to the end of the open house. No big deal. But then a friend made mention of bringing their children to the temple and what a wonderful experience it was for them. Bringing children? No. No way. I hadn't ever even entertained the idea. The funny thing is, after that comment was made by my friend the thought of bringing children stuck with me. I couldn't get it out of my mind. I ran the idea by the mr. one night. Told him that we should just suck it up and take them. Yes, it would be hectic. Yes, they would whine. But we both realized how much of a blessing it would be for our family. So we went on Friday evening. The lines were long, but the kids were well behaved. It was not hectic. They did not whine. All five of the kids were PERFECT. They loved wearing the booties used to protect the carpet. They were fascinated by the stained glass on the ceilings. They were in complete awe of the gorgeous crystal chandeliers. I was so caught up in, well, herding my littles around that it didn't even dawn on me that I was in the temple until we entered the celestial room and caught sight of that magnificent chandelier. It took my breath away. I'm so glad that my little family had the opportunity to visit the temple. What a blessing - even if it immediately became hectic and they started whining again the moment we left the temple grounds.
The guy who took our picture acted as if he had literally never used a camera... So not an amazing photo.

HEART DAY

The mr. and I literally did nothing for Valentines. Just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes (though he did get me some tulips the next day). That being said, the littles and I DID celebrate by making a few crafts. One of my favorites - and by far the easiest - was our heart stampers. Empty toilet paper tubes. Red [washable] paint. White card stock. Done. I think the kids stamped away for a solid 30 minutes. They loved this activity. They also enjoyed using their finished artwork to make cards for our friends. I might have even made one, too.

365: WEEK 6

This week has felt busier than most. Maybe I am crazy and just don't realize how busy I always am. Regardless, this past week saw many adventures. Running for the first time since baby. Taking the kids to a museum. Racing in the Color Vibe with friends. Visiting with my birthmother. I am sure other things happened as well... I just don't remember them. If it weren't for my ginormous chalkboard wall calendar, I wouldn't remember ANYTHING. My favorite image of the week: February 7th - Air Museum. You can read all about my trip to the museum HERE. It was such a fun adventure for the littles. The photo from the Color Vibe was a close second, though. That race was SO. MUCH. FUN. More pictures from the Color Vibe HERE. Fun runs are awesome.

Lots of Nene. Unintentional; boys rarely sit still long enough to be photographed.

COLOR VIBE

I am crazy. Really. You could say it to my face and I wouldn't even be offended because I KNOW I am crazy. When baby B was 2 weeks old, I signed up for my first race. Which happened today - just over 3 weeks after giving birth. It was a fun race, so no serious running. Actually, pretty much NO running since I walked a majority of it. Wore a frilly blue tutu. Made some new friends. Had a whole lot of fun. Eventually I will get back into serious running, but for now I am content with these awesome races.

AIR MUSEUM

We talked about planes for preschool this week. Parts. Types. Cargo. Since Falcon Field is just down the street, I decided to incorporate a field trip into our schedule. I knew that there was a museum of sorts at Falcon Field, but I had no clue what exactly they had on display. The website didn't provide much info, either. So we winged it. Ha. Unintended pun. We invited some friends and went to see the Arizona Wing Commemorative Air Museum. SO SO glad we did. Winter admission rates meant that I only paid $12 for myself and the five kids. A ceremony was being held for Navy personnel, so we were asked to start in the back at the refurbishing hanger. It was awesome. We watched veterans restoring a couple of WWII planes right before our eyes. Those men were the sweetest. We ventured out of the hanger and were able to get up close to quite a few warbirds. When the kids started getting antsy, we brought them back inside to check out the exhibit hanger. The planes were amazing. Unfortunately, the kids spotted the cake for the Naval ceremony amongst the planes and were a little upset when we told them that the cake was not for them. A couple of Navy officers overheard the kids and brought over treats for everyone. I was astonished by their unexpected generosity. We made one last round in the hanger before heading out. Seriously. This place is a gem. We will DEFINITELY be going back.

365: WEEK 5

I am slacking a bit on when I post. Something came up Tuesday evening. I can't even remember... Anyway. This last week has been full of random, little things. Preschool. Visitors. Outings. Even a photography session. I am the crazy lady that pretty much picks up where she left off after having a baby. Good thing my recoveries are a breeze, otherwise this wouldn't be possible. My favorite image of the week: two are tied for my weekly favorite. January 31st - Horsies. I took all five littles to Princess Park last week for a play date with some friends. The park backs up against horse property so, naturally, that is where the kids wound up. They even had a equine friend come visit them at the fence. The second favorite image of the week: February 3rd - Sweet Treat. We were going to go to Yogurtland that evening to celebrate National Frozen Yogurt Day with a free frozen yogurt. But the line was wrapped around the building. No way. Not with five littles. I pitched the idea of Nielsen's Frozen Custard. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. The kids were wonderful. The food was wonderful. The experience... well, you get the idea. LOVED it. Proof to the mr. that we CAN take the family out with relatively no stress.