March's Random Ramblings

ABIGAIL:

• When we had Me and My Gal day at Abby's school she looked at me as we got out of the van and said, "how are you enjoying Me and My Gal day so far, Mommy?"  
• Abigail's soccer uniforms are blue much to her dismay.  One day as we were getting ready for soccer she said, "Mommy I love soccer, but blue really isn't my color."
• Driving to school one day Abby informed me that we were taking the sun for a walk.

OLIVIA:

• I am pretty sure Olivia thinks Abby's name is sister.  Every morning when she wakes up she asks sister? sister? ....she always needs to know where Abby is.
• Olivia has recently started saying "ya" and "no" in response to questions you ask her.  Sometimes Abby will get her on a roll and she will answer ya to everything (including when Abby asks if she loves poop)  which Abby finds hilarious!                                                           

Tucson Airshow

Andrew and I took the girls to the air show at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, or more accurately, the girls and I took Andrew to the air show!  Andrew is still like a kid in a candy store when it comes to air shows and while the girls and I enjoyed it, Andrew was really in his element!  They had tons of static displays as well as arial demonstrations, all topped off with the Thunderbirds show.  On top of all the aircrafts there was a ton of food, bouncy's for the kids, and other free shwag.  It was a great day being outside and enjoying the aircrafts and our family!!

Abigail inside a helicopter (I don't remember what kind it was)

Olivia in the same helicopter

Olivia doing what she does best....running around like a banshee!!

"Mmm, icecream!  Want a bite?!?"

Some airplanes of some sort....Andrew would know what they are.

Andrew with a few of his favorite things.....his girls and an airplane, doesn't get much better than that for him!!

Olivia got a diaper change on the runway.  I am sure she will love this picture someday!

Ostrich Festival

That's right an entire festival that is dedicated to the strange bird known as the ostrich.  It was actually a very big festival with lots of rides, food, vendors, music and of course ostrich races.  The girls really enjoyed the ostrich races and Abigail had a blast on the rides.  She would have stayed all day if we had let her.  It was kind of hard just because Olivia wasn't really big enough to ride many of the rides but she really wanted to go with her sister, maybe next year the girls can ride the rides together at the festivals.

Abby going down the slide and Olivia waiting for her at the bottom

Watching the Ostrich races

Such a strange looking animal

Daddy and Olivia cheering on the birds

Ostrich chariot race

In addition to the ostrich races, they had camel races as well.

The girls checking out the chickens

I was surprised Abby wanted to do this, but she really enjoyed riding the zip line.

Olivia's one and only ride of the day.  She doesn't look very happy in this picture (she was soooo tired) but she smiled and giggled through the entire ride once it started!

The girls sharing a sno cone.  I am pretty sure this was their favorite part of the entire festival.

Olivia was tuckered out afterward, a sign of a good day!!!

Visitors from Wisconsin

We recently had some visitors from Wisconsin, I guess they wanted escape the cold, dreary wether and head to AZ for some fun in the sun.  The beginning of their visit was a bit disappointing because it was chilly and rainy here, but the rest of the week was gorgeous.  Andrew's Aunt MaryJo, Uncle Mike, his cousins Brian and Jodi and Brian's girlfriend Tabitha came to visit for a week.  Besides the bad weather at the beginning of the week, Andrew was also out of town.  It was kind of a bummer for him but it was great for me because everyone really took care of me and the girls.  They were so much help with Andrew being out of town.  I think they are going to have to come back out next time Andrew has to be out of town!  On top of all the help, they spoiled the girls rotten!!!  We stayed busy but I didn't take a ton of pictures, but here are a few from their visit.

After seeing this place on the travel channel and realizing that it was right up the street from our house we had to try it.  It is a restaurant called The Heart Attack Grill.  It is "famous" for its un-healthy ways.  They only serve burgers and fries that are made with lard.  They have a single burger all the way up to a quadruple burger called a quadruple by-pass.  They do not serve diet or light anything.   The waitress are dressed in skimpy nurse outfits and the cooks were scrubs.  When you arrive they put you in a hospital gown and give you a hospital admission bracelet.   If you actually finish a quadruple by-pass burger you are wheeled out from your seat to your car in a wheel chair.   I was happy that I brought the girls food from home!  I, on the other hand, did not have food from home and had a single burger.  I wasn't able to finish it, in fact, I only had a few bites.  I don't know if it was a mental thing (knowing that it was so greasy and unhealthy) or if I really just didn't like the taste of it.    It was quite the experience and now that I have been there, I don't need to go back...ever!

Abby was not at all thrilled with the place and has said several times since then that she doesn't ever want to go back to The Heart Attack Grill.

Brian attempted and conquered the quadruple by-pass!!

Brian's sweet ride out of the restaurant!

One night we went over to MaryJo and Mike's friends' house for dinner.  They had a beautiful home and a very nice bar and pool in the backyard.  The girls made themselves right at home at the tiki-bar with virgin coco-loco's made by bartender Andrew.

After the Brewers game we went for an early dinner to one of our favorite local restaurants.  Its near downtown Tempe and on top of their very yummy italian food and pizza they have a fabulous patio area.  If you don't get there early (like before 5PM) you will wait for a VERY long time for a patio seat.  We lucked out and got there about 5 and were seated right away!  Just remember folks, we are here in AZ for a few more months....let us know if you want to visit!!!

Yay for meatballs!!!!

Jodi and Brian

Tabitha and Abigail

Me and my honey

One day some of us went to the zoo while the others golfed.  It was a gorgeous day for the zoo (and golf) and we all had a lot of fun and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Spring Training

One of the perks about living in AZ besides the winter weather is the baseball spring training.  The cactus league has about 15 teams that play at 11 different stadiums around the Phoenix area, with a couple in Tucson.  That means that on any given day in March you can go watch a baseball game.  It is great, the stadiums are small and most of them sell grass tickets which are cheap and a perfect place to bring small kids because that means they can run around and not disturb people!  We went to the Brewers/Cubs game while we had family in from Wisconsin and it was an absolutely perfect day.  The girls had a blast "watching" baseball, running around in the grass, eating hotdogs and snow-cones, and soaking up the sun. I definitely want to try to get in at least one more game before the end of the month and it is just one more thing on the long list of what I will miss about living in Arizona!

Best seat in the house!

I think she was pointing to an airplane.  

Yum, ballpark hotdogs.  No baseball game is complete without one!

The only bad thing is that most of the spring training games start at 1PM which is right about nap time for Olivia.  She laid down for a bit, but never actually feel asleep.  She was out as soon as we were in the car though!

Abby and Olivia with Great-Aunt MaryJo

Abby's blue tongue from her sno-cone

Watching the Hotdog Races