Oh, Is It Really Almost MARCH Already!?! {mobile monday}

So YES, I'm a slacker!!! I can't believe it's nearly March and I haven't shared anything of this year yet.  We've had A LOT going on... and I've more pictures to share, but for now - mobile phone pics will have to do as I haven't much time to spare lately.  I'll squeeze some more sharing in over the next couple of weeks... just know we are LOVING our beautiful sunny and warm Arizona winter, and enjoying every moment we get to share here.
Later,
Jess xo

* Sahuarita NJROTC whooped some butt at Moon Valley HS in Phoenix at the Valley of the Sun meet in January - took first in state, and secured their invitation to regional competition at Camp Pendleton in February!
* It's been very, very warm here and we've enjoyed soaking up the sunshine - including making 'snow angels' in the sand on New Year's Day.
* Buggy and BFF Hannah have been faithful in their stake dance attendance, haha!  Their favorites have been the 50's Night here in Sahuarita and the Valentine's Sweetheart dance in Rincon.
* Jess had a nice break from working and mom-duties painting for dear friend Cindy & Ken's upcoming wedding mural wall of canvases... it was fun, and therapeutic, I'd forgot how much I enjoyed painting.
* Freckle Face finally got in to the Tucson Orthopedic Institute for evaluation and has begun physical therapy in Green Valley (thankfully - because it's much closer to home than traveling to mid-town Tucson twice a week).
* Sahuarita NJROTC drill teams ranked second at their competition last weekend, which Buggy says was just a 'dress rehearsal' for this week's California trip.  Everyone is excited and nervous - counting down the days!!!
* Oh, and mom found a new favorite Saturday morning recipe to spoil the kids and their friends with: Homemade Nutella Poptarts... simply delicious!

October Wrap Up {mobile monday}

End of the month wrap up for on-the-go pics from my sweet phone:
* Pep Rally and Spirit Week
* Fun Family Home Evenings
* EYO Scout Camp-out in the Santa Ritas
* Ward Trunk-or-Treat
* Freckle Face's new braces
* Busy photography schedule
* YW's Evening in Excellence, both girls completed values in Personal Progress
* All three kids made the Principal's Honor Roll for 3.5+ GPA
* Monkey Boy's Student of the Week for outstanding character
* Halloween - whoot, whoot!!
* Football and basketball games
* White Elephant Parade - 50th Anniversary
* More parties and gathering of family and friends - we are blessed!

I could've have made it through this crazy and wild ride of a month without some very wonderful and helpful family and friends - both near and far.  I am a lucky girl to have such an amazing support system!  XO - Jess

Our Summer Activities, part 2

Here's a brief look at the second half of our fabulous summer break... it went by far too quickly, that's for sure! 
* Monsoon season was a bit of a bust again this year, only a couple of good storms brought any actual, measurable rain to the desert.
* The kids enjoyed some Circus, Circus! in Las Vegas as we met Grandma for a two-week trade off.
* Cousin Jacob came down for a two-week visit we went camping and swimming and played video games.
* Grandma Brunette taught us how to make homemade candy - lollipops.
* Copper and Daisy made a new friend while camping, Tank.
* Copper and Daisy also got a little down when the kids were both gone to Utah and when they were packing backpacks in preparation for going back to school.

Doll On A Music Box {favorite friday}

[England 2007]

This was a six-year-old Bug, preparing for her very first on-stage performance as the "Doll On A Music Box" from the Disney classic "Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang".  The dress was a gift from one of Military Man's TDY's to Germany.  The performance was for the Thetford Ward Talent Show.  The stage props rocked, with a decorated music box complete with a large turn key and a doll that became "animated" and actually spun around like a real music box doll.  In the words of Bug herself, "it was EPIC!"  This week, seven and a half years later, she's preparing for her first pageant with a schedule full of mock interviews, pageant prep classes and review boards.  Busy, busy.  We are so proud of her - she's an incredible young lady and we can't wait to see what other amazing opportunities will come her way in the future.

Happy Friday!!
- Jess

Cake For The Blue & Gold Banquet

Monkey Boy decided on a much simpler cake design for the Blue & Gold Banquet this year.  Although it proved quite daunting trying to get all those lines drawn on there.  The silly cans of 'squirt-frosting' were not as easy to operate as they looked.  I still think he did a great job.  (See last year's radical army tank cake HERE).

- xoxo Jess

Gettin Crafty With Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is about the one time a year I get a little crafty.  This year for Monkey Boy's class valentines I let him have a go at Pinterest ideas and he really liked this one from designwashrinserepeat.com. 

Easy enough!  

And of course, we can't be out done by Grandma Brunette.  She sent each of the kids a giant card with crisp dollar bills folded into origami hearts. 

I {heart} Glow Sticks

The kids and I loaded up with the telescope, tripod, camera, sugary treats, some glow sticks and set out into the desert in the Jeep for an evening of SUPER MOON watching.  There were many clouds in the east periodically dampering our moon gazing, so we decided to have a little fun with the glow sticks.  We experimented with several exposure settings and countless designs and patterns... I honestly didn't know what the heck I was doing, we were just winging it.  The kids had a blast!

I'll be sharing some of my SUPERMOON captures later in the week.
XOXO - Jess

Glow In The Dark Party

Over the weekend we celebrated birthdays ten and thirteen! ...growing too fast.

XOXO- Jess

Crunchy House Plants

This is the current state of what used to be my beautiful palm and ferns.  I don't know what the deal is, but it just makes me sad :(  I thought these two species would be a sure-deal with the tag that read "easy to grow" and all the information I got off the internet about which plants were best for purifying the indoor air and which ones were great for people who don't know much about growing plants.  Bummer!

xoxo - Jess

Coloring Eggs

XOXO - Jessica

Pinewood Derby ii

Freckle Face's Young Women's group joined the Young Men at a Pinewood Derby activity this week.  She was SO EXCITED to be able to make her own car and race it.

Building His Own Cake

For the Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet this year the boys had to make and decorate a cake.  I didn't think Monkey Boy would be too enthused with this particular activity, but he surprised me with a wonderful idea and a well thought out plan for his special cake.  I also thought I'd be abandoned to work on the project myself ten minutes in (as is usually the case) but the only thing I had to do was supervise the oven.  He wasn't too happy about me taking pictures of him (as you can see), but he did all the work and I couldn't be more proud of his creativity and determination.  He even got first place!  

I did find a tutorial for the camouflage-type cake marbling style we used on the crafty mama blog found HERE.

Last Week's Goings On

I had plenty of extra hands to help me with some projects I wanted to take care of while Military Man was in Honduras.  We prepared some indoor plants for our natural air purification project, hung his hammock with the help of a neighbor, painted Joey's birdhouse and filled with bird seed, weeded the yard, trimmed the bushes, and priced out ceiling fans for my office.

And when he returned, we celebrated his 35th birthday with lunch at Joe's Crab Shack and a delectable cheese cake and two pounds of fresh strawberries.

Brightly Colored Lanterns

Making Valentines

Tonight I caught the girls crafting away at the kitchen table, collaborating ideas - creating Valentines for their friends and teachers.  I can't tell you how many projects those particular scissors, stamps, stencils and markers have been a part of... I am pleased that they continue to find use of them.

Monkey Boy on the other hand prefers simultaneous video games and Friday night movies.