365.2: WEEK 18

Most of this week has been a fog, thanks in whole to Celiac Disease. The ironic part is that May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month. Apparently, my body didn't get the memo. As a result, I feel as if I was only present for half of the week. Dinosaur play. Missing teeth. Sick Day. Dress ups. Zoo crew. Fajita Party. New bed.

May 2nd - May 8th

DBG

A few months ago, I went on a location hunt for a bridal session. I happened upon the Desert Botanical Garden website on the second Tuesday of the month and found that admission into the DBG was free on that particular day (and every other second Tuesday of each month). I ended up taking my littles that day on a complete whim. It was FABULOUS. I decided that I would need a repeat later into the year.
Fast forward to the second Tuesday in April. I had it on my calendar and, day of, I set off for the DBG. I was prompted to call a dear friend along the way and invite her, but changed my mind as I felt it was too last-minute. 20 minutes into our adventure down a trail at the DBG, I bumped into said friend's little ones with their grandparents! She was in NY at the time, so they had brought her children during DBG's free admission. My littles were delighted to see and play with their friends for a while. They got to explore vegetable gardens and observe caterpillars together. We had picked the best month to visit; all of the cacti and shrubs were in full bloom. Note to self: Desert Botanical Garden every April. My kids won't complain, we can never make a to the DBG visit without purchasing cactus candy for our family.

365.2: WEEK 17

The year is a third of the way complete. WHAT. I feel like the days are just flying by now that my youngest is older and not experiencing the difficulties that she did the first year of her life. Hallelujah. That being said, it is breaking my heart to watch her grow. She is inching further and further from the baby stage each day. Someone needs to figure out how to stop time. Our week has been fun. Diamondbacks game for the mr. and the three oldest boys. Baby retaliating at bedtime and instead playing "peek-boo". Birthday party for a friend at the park. Fountain play while killing time at the mall. Night out with girlfriends at IKEA. Role play on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Reading church magazines in pajamas.

April 25th - May 1st

365.2: WEEK 16

Before I get to the pictures, let me share a little snippet of our weekend that wasn't captured (by my camera). The boys had Fathers & Sons from Friday afternoon until Saturday morning. Upon returning home - minutes before I had to leave for a newborn photo shoot - the mr. proclaims, "We should go to the aquarium together this afternoon." WHAT. Camping wasn't enough? We decide on it and I go off to work for a few hours. After the session, I return home right as the kids are waking up from naps. Perfect timing. We whisk everyone away in a flurry of excitement and activity (I mean, not out of the norm when going ANYWHERE with six kids, just adding dramatic flare) and we go to the aquarium. As we are unloading the kids from the car, it dawns on me that the diaper bag - along with our aquarium passes - is not in the car. It is on the kitchen table. FRUSTRATION. Meltdown. Give up. Tears. IDEA! The mr. had talked about wanting to go on a family hike at some point, so why not now (despite improper footwear and lack of water)? We drive a couple miles north and arrive at Papago Park. Hole in the Rock. Up and down in 30 minutes. The kids did well and loved the view. It was fabulous. What could have been a disastrous fail of an outing ended up being a spontaneous success of an adventure.
Now, for the 365. Our week was more or less the same as normal. Busy. Pouty faces, dirty feet, splash pads, school projects, Fathers & Sons, newborn sessions, and temple trips, for the win.

April 18th - April 24th

365.2: WEEK 15

A couple of days behind because, well, life. I didn't feel like editing on Sunday night, so I skipped it and am only now just getting around to it. Our week was busy, busy, busy. Tea parties on our swing set. Caterpillars at the Desert Botanical Garden. Well checks at the doctor's office. Barbie cars with our dear neighbor. Tigers at the zoo with awesome friends. Newborn session with the sweetest babe. Chocolate after church on Sunday. Another full week, in the books.

April 11th - April 17th

365.2: WEEK 14

I'm tired. Maybe it's from being glutened by my baby (she repeatedly drank from my water bottle this morning after eating a bowl full of glutenous cereal). Maybe it's from my oldest screaming for 45 minutes at bedtime (he is terrified of zombies even though he has NEVER watched anything with zombies in it. EVER). Or maybe it's just life. Our weekly recap: reading in the car, learning about healthy food, splashing at Riverview Park, dominating Mario Kart Wii, loving on baby goats, playing at Peter Piper, watching the rain. Now, I rest.

April 4th - April 10th

365.2: WEEK 13

"I have an Easter post in the works". Famous last words. When I sat down to edit pictures for my Easter post, I sadly discovered that I had deleted every. single. one. (500+ pictures). Let me tell you, NOT an ideal way to start a day. Instead of getting frustrated, I decided that I needed to just move on. Sure, I could get upset and let it sour my mood for the remainder of the day - in fact, that's what I WANTED to do. But I realized that wouldn't be fair to anyone around me. Nor would it bring my pictures back. So, in a word, Easter was wonderful.
This week has brought a lot of togetherness. Which, when you have 6 kids, is kind of a given. I feel as if the mr. and I made more of an effort to play with our littles, though. Playing with gliders. Wrestling on the floor. Going to different parks. Visiting the aquarium. Being silly at Target. Exploring new places. And just plain loving on one another. Not just observing, but DOING. I'm the type of person that has always felt a need for structure, schedules, agendas, deadlines, etc. Like I have to do certain things in a certain way at a certain time. But I don't. I don't have to blog. Or do photography. Or teach preschool. Those are all choices (that I plan on continuing). My family comes first. Not at a certain time or in a certain way. FIRST.

March 28th - April 3rd