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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Beautiful Arizona Morning

As beautiful as this southern Arizona desert is, I'm headed north to the cooling comfort of the Rocky Mountains for awhile.  I'll have plenty of adventures to share when I return!  For now, have a happy summer everybody!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Last Day of School

Busy day for the Brunette kids as it was the last day of school for this school year.  The day started off with me and Freckle Face running around town, making sure she had THE perfect items to make "hanging out with her friends" extra fun. Next was Buggy's 5th grade and middle school graduation... next year starts the beginning of junior high for her.
Buggy was presented with several awards including two music awards, Honor Roll, and special interest in Social Studies.
No special celebrations for 3rd graders, but I think my 3rd grader is pretty darn special, and cute, so we had to get  a picture of him on the last day of school too.
Then we ran over to the middle school where these crazy Jaguars were having lunch.  I am so glad she has such a great group of friends.  They really are all great kids.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Happy Centennial, Arizona

This beautiful state we live in is celebrating 100 years of statehood. 

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Gila Valley Arizona Temple

Saturday we took a drive out to the Gila Valley Temple in Safford.  We were almost persuaded by the Temple President to take Talia in for baptisms, which is going to be wonderful for her first time, but we didn't want to leave the other two without supervision.  Turns out she didn't want to 'babysit' them and there was quite the drama going on outside while we were in session inside.  Complete with a telephone call to Grandma to mediate the situation.  Good grief!  I'll try not to complain, but seriously - we can't just have ONE morning without parents overseeing EVERYTHING!!! Oh well, what can ya do?!  They all survived and things were fine.
I asked the kids to take a quick picture of us since we never get pictures of just us two - one of us is always behind the camera.  Looking at our squinting faces reminds me that I'm so NOT ready for MORE of this intense heat and blinding sun for the next four months!!!

Pool Party

We had a 'make up' birthday party for Freckle Face's friends that weren't able to come last month.  These kids LOVE the pool so much I am not sure how they'll handle it when we leave.

Warwick Castle Project

Glue, cardboard, empty paper towel rolls, toothpicks, scissors, molding clay, pens, markers, papers, mounting tape... this is a quick list of items that were scattered around our living room for the better of two weeks.  Freckle Face worked diligently on her 6th grade castle project for social studies, choosing to replicate Warwick Castle in England.  We visited the castle several times while living there and she was eager to display everything she remembered about it. 
After talking to the kids we found that they each have fond memories of taking grandparents on specially guided tours - by the kids themselves - it was one of their favorite parts about living in the U.K.... the castles. 


Monday, May 14, 2012

I {heart} My Mommy 5k

The girls and I ran in our first official 5k race over the weekend for Mother's Day.  It was a nice morning, for AZ standards - but HOT regardless.  I am NOT looking forward to the next 4-5 months of extreme heat.
Freckle Face came in at 34:08 - so proud of her!  Buggy and I were just happy to finish the race.
Handed the camera over to my hubby so he could take some pictures for us.  He was waiting for us at the finish line along with Monkey Boy and an armful of roses - such sweet boys of mine!  There were a number of friends from our stake that ran in the race with their kiddos too.  They all kicked my butt of course :)  

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Up & Over Gunsight Pass

This morning we took the new Jeep up over Gunsight Pass (Coronado National Forest) in the Santa Rita Mountains just east of where we live.  It was awesome - up and over elevation 5000+ feet... according to Google. On the way down the east side of the pass we scouted out some great places for camping and playing paint ball. 

Friday, May 11, 2012

Mexican Restaurant

Monkey Boy's third grade class hosted a Mexican restaurant today.  They've been working hard over the last couple of weeks planning a menu, creating the restaurant atmosphere, and practicing their roles.  They even had to apply and interview for the positions they'd be doing.  Monkey Boy worked as both a host and a server.  Sooo adorable :)

Field Trip Fun

A snippet of the fun on the bus during Buggy's class field trip.  We saw the musical, "Seussical" at the UofA. 

Final Orchestra Concert of the Year

Last night was Bug's final fifth grade orchestra performance.  She was beyond excited.  It was wonderful to hear the improvements the kids have made over the last few months.  Much of their progress can be attributed to Mr. Cardon, an incredibly talented young man that recently took over the program.
Ash and Amber flawlessly performed a duet called "Buckeye Salute."
Backstage Mrs. Taylor-Newton, the music director, had many wonderful praises for our Bug and her friend Amber.  Mrs. Taylor-Newton and Mr. Cardon will not be with them next year as the girls enter middle school.  They'll have a whole new experience awaiting them as they begin learning alongside some of the high-schoolers.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Pima Air & Space Museum and the "Bone Yard"

Last week we visited the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson.  Arizona's climate is perfect for storing aircraft because of the low, low humidity.  We drive past the museum and storage yard all the time - almost daily for the last two and a half years... so we decided it was finally time to check it out.
I don't know much about aircraft, or the history of aviation... so I don't know what's cool and what's not.  I just chose these pictures to share for variety - I have a ton more that I'm sure my man would love to educate me about.
My favorite part is AMARG or the "bone yard" where the aircraft are kept in different stages of storage.  Many of the aircraft there can be reinstated and ready to go if needed.  Some of the airplanes are being stored there until sold to other countries.  And the rest are either being kept for parts or are slowly being scrapped and destroyed. 
The USAF is in control over this part of the tour.  I was disappointed about the bus ride because I naively thought we could just hop in some golf carts or something and be able to get up close or at least be able to take photographs NOT through a dirty window glare.  Oh well, it was still very cool!