Cerreta's Candy Factory

I'm finally getting caught up!!! Yea! As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, my girlfriends and I decided that this summer we needed to keep our beloved little ones occupied (and exposed to culture) and go to some fun places together every week. Those days happen to be Wednesdays (no other appointments allowed Holly!). This week's field trip (oh yeah, teacher speak) was to Cerreta's Candy Factory. Looking back, I wish I had taken some pictures of the outside, but well, it's an old, brick building in downtown Phoenix- got the picture now? Thought so ;)

Addisen, Gabriel, McKenna, and Abby tasting some super-delicious, mint-covered, chocolate bars-

their samples are HUGE!

Abby really liked the milk chocolate creme covered in milk chocolate.

So they offer 'tours' at 10:00a and 1:00p, then afterwards you can pay a small fee to have your child make a chocolate pizza. They really need to rephrase (or redefine) what a 'tour' is. See, I thought tours were where you walk around in a group, like a bunch of tourists, seeing interesting things...you too? Yeah, not this 'tour'. We stood behind a short wall and listened to a lady ramble on and on and on, oh, and on about how they make chocolate. Great, except people might have actually retained some of that information had we been able to SEE what she was talking about. Enough complaining...once the 'tour' was over and the kiddos waited ever so patiently (really, they did!), they passed out all of the 'ingredients' and the kids got to work! It was SO cute and they had so much fun! Well worth the half hour 'tour' (although next time, I think I'll sneak in late...).

These kids held on to their 'Pizza Tickets' like it was the key to Candyland!

Here is Abby meticulously placing each M & M onto her pizza. Hmm, wonder where she gets that from?

Abby now believes chocolate is one of the major food groups, probably because she'd never been able to have that much in one day, let alone one sitting! YUMMY!!!

Just too cute not to share! I love it!!! That is her completed 'pizza' in the background.

Father's Day

I'm writing this post a wee bit late...we've been pretty busy doing some fun stuff this week that I just now get to sit down and play catch up ;) Anywho, as most everyone does, we celebrated Father's Day this past weekend with a phone call to Grandpa Kelly (we miss you!), brunch with Grandpa Jim (forgot my camera-darn!), some family time at home with Kyle, and topped the night off with ribs and other yummy goodies at Chelle and Bob's (thanks for hosting!).

So I would like to say that the day went off without a hitch, but then I'd be lying... you see, I decided to do a cute craft and it called for spray paint. I should have learned from my friend Holly to be suspicious of spray paint that's been in the garage for a few years. Here's what happened to my hand (thankfully not my left one!)

Kyle said I looked like I was trying out for the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. But, after much time spent scrubbing and soaking my hand in nail polish remover, all was good ;)

I would like to give a shout out of praise to all the men I know, and love, that are awesome daddys! I love this day because I love to think about all of the amazing fun things I did with my dad growing up- building model rockets and shooting them off, building remote control cars, popping off those little baggies filled with gun powder (I assume that's what it was), spending lots of time at our grandma's cabin, and other copious amounts of memories!

Not to say that times didn't get 'iffy' between my dad and me (does that word really even justify it, Dad?). I mean seriously, a teenage girl and a grown man trying to understand her? That's why I tell Kyle that one day, Abby is going to realize just how much she really loves him (although I suspect she does now, she just doesn't know how to show it)- despite her current, angry shouts of "No toucha me, Daddy!" and "Let go me!". I really don't know if he hears too much else from her right now...

So, thank you Dad for teaching me what a great dad is supposed to be, and thank you Kyle for being that great dad to our daughter. I love you SO much!

Swim School Cake!!!

For those of you who have been following WAY back to the beginning of our blog (you know, last week!), you'll probably remember the countdown chain we had for Abby's cake. Well, the day finally arrived. Today was our last day of swim school and as we walked up, Abby could not stop talking about, "I go under", and how nice Miss Kelly was (who really was awesome). I told her how proud I was of her and I hoped she had a lot of fun during her last day of swim lessons.

Abby walking with Miss Kelly back to the pool for more lessons.

She walked right into the water all by herself and then completed a full swim lesson with... NO TEARS!!! Way to go, Abby! To say this is a big deal for her is an understatement. I only hope that she always holds onto that excitement and pride she showed today when she realized she could do something, even while being a little scared. We do hard things everyday, of course they may vary with levels of difficulty, but we do- even 2 year olds ;)

Getting ready to 'swim' to the step all by herself!

How can you not be proud of faces like that? Way to go Abby & Maeleigh!

So here's to you my brave, little girl... here's your cake, I hope you enjoy! Love, Mama

God Sightings...

This week is my very first time ever helping out with VBS at our church. I'm (officially) the Preschool Director (although I'm not sure how much I am really helping), but for whatever it's worth, I'm having a blast! I can't decide if it's just because I really do love to be at church or if it's learning all the fun, not-so-new, bible songs for kids (maybe I can sing something other than Jesus Loves Me with Abby) or if it's watching a group of people numbering near 500 come together to learn about God...either way, my life has been touched in a very special way this week.

The theme we are doing is from a company called Group and it's called Crocodile Dock. Anywho, the picture below is of Jacques Le Croc. I think he's like the Mickey Mouse of Crocodile Dock.

Well, why I felt the need to share all of this with you is because it leads up to the bigger story I wanted to share. All this week, the kids are looking for 'God Sightings'- basically anything that reminds them of God and His beautiful creation. They get to share these with each other and then at the end of the day they 'light' a candle (one of those wonderful battery operated flickering ones) to shine the light of God's love for us.

Here's Abby's (unprompted and very unexpected) God Sighting: I was giving her a bath yesterday and of course she was "SO COLD!" when she got out so I got her all wrapped up in her towel and snuggled up in my lap. It's one of my favorite times of the day, she's all wrapped up like a little baby again...I know ;) So I ask her who loves her (mind you, I'm fully expecting her to say Mama!) and she doesn't miss a beat, "Jesus!". Okay, that's sweet...but it gets better. I say to her, "Well, who else loves you?" (again thinking now she'll surely say me) and she looks at me and smiles before responding, "God loves me!" Seriously, how did I end up with this awesome little person? Just when I think she's done sharing all of her wisdom, she looks at me again and says, "God loves you Mama." I'm now melting...

Thank you Abby for reminding me of how simple it really is...

I love you girl!

Happy 1st Birthday, Makayla!

Abby's little friend, Makayla, turns 1 year old today! Hooray! We love her so much and we are so glad to have spent a wonderful year with her...isn't she beautiful?

Fun Times at the Phoenix Zoo

As summer approached, myself and some girlfriends decided that in order to keep our sanity intact, and keep the kids busy, we should try to plan one weekly field trip together. This week's trip was to the Phoenix Zoo. As always, everyone had a blast (including us moms) and no one needed bandaids (or aloe vera- Holly).

Otters are very interesting creatures...especially if there had been any to look at in there!

What a great group of kids!

Upon arrival, I saw a bathing suit peeking out underneath Addisen's dress...what?!? Again, I missed out on that detail. Thankfully, I at least had a spare sundress in Abby's backpack...oops! So yes, that is my darling daughter splashing around in her dress while everyone else had good mommies that brought swim suits. Oh well, there's always next time ;)

These two always seem to find something very interesting (and small) to look at...

In spite of Monkey Village being closed because they were all at the 'doctor'-seriously, how else do you try and explain to a small group of preschoolers that their favorite exhibit is closed for annual vet exams? Shouldn't there be some kind of general public broadcast? Thankfully, however, there were no tears...but there were a lot of questions...

What a great way to end a great day! Thanks Aunt Melynda for the carousel ride!

So swim...

Well, we've just completed our first week of swim lessons. Not quite sure how it's going, I believe the windy mornings hinder Maeleigh and Abby's joy of splashing around in the water :( Needless to say, swim lessons are a must (although next time we'll go for later in the day or early evening) so we try to get as excited as we can and put a merry smile on our face as we walk out the door.

Abby's been a trooper, she cries some, but again, I believe most of it is because she feels like a popsicle as she patiently waits for her turn with her teacher, Miss Kelly. She's been telling me all week that she "not go under water" and believe me, she is VERY adamant about that! Well, sorry to say sister, but Miss Kelly took her under 2 times today...even though she cried afterwards (both times), I was SOOOO proud of her! By the time we got home, she was smiling and she seemed so very proud of herself for going under water. She even called daddy and told him she went under 5 times (fibber!).

How do you teach your kid that we do hard things? Is there a right age? I'm not sure about this, but even at the ripe, old age of 2 1/2, my girl did it- she did something (maybe not willfully or purposefully) that she thought she couldn't do. She never ceases to amaze me and she is surely deserving of the 'swim school cake' I'm going to make for her and her cousins at the end of their lessons. *For those of you who don't know about the cake deal going on, Abby is obsessed with wanting a birthday cake, right now! Since I'm pretty sure she doesn't understand the logistics of a calendar, a 'swim school cake' should (hopefully) appease her for the time being ;)

This is Abby's paper chain of how many days she has left of swim school

(yes, that is a picture of the cake she wants!)

Summer Time Reflections

Some would say that as a teacher, summer time comes all too slowly. But I've always felt otherwise. When you have an AMAZING year like I just did, it comes all too quickly, and then disappears as quickly as it came! But I do love to be asked what I do on my summers off. "What do you do?" you ask...let me share: I do nothing and everything at the same time. Here are just a few ideas of my lovely, lazy summer days...
I sleep in as late as a 2 year will let you,
I stay in my jammies as long as I can,
I look forward to whatever vacations my family has planned,
I clean, cook, do laundry (you know, all the chores that don't stop when the school year does),
I clean up after my 2 year old (and maybe my husband too!),
We go on field trips to new places and old,
I drive to swim lessons (more on that later!),
and I play with my friends.

For the past 23 years of my life, I used to count down the days of summer, but then I realized that it took away from enjoying the days I had left. Then something grand happened. I had my beautiful girl, Abby. Having her taught me all about how to live in the moment, right now. I try to take time out of my crazy busy day to ponder, I mean really ponder, the important things in parenting like, How do I teach her to find the joy in the little things? How do I show her all that's out there for her to grab? How will I ever give her everything? How will she really know love, the way it's supposed to be? And then, when I stop thinking so much and let it sink in that yes, I need to be 'in parenting', I realize, this is why she's here. It's simple really. Simple. God has blessed me with this amazing little girl, not to teach, but to teach me, to humble me. She's here to show me the joy in all the little things like a bug in the driveway, a bubble floating through the air, or finding the letter 'c' on a cereal box. I see in her grand determination to master such skills as pedalling a tricycle or coloring in the lines, she is showing me that I have to go out there and grab all that life has to offer because it's only me that can do it. If she doesn't see that, where is she going to learn it (well I guess in a sense she already has)? She will have everything she ever needs because God gives us all we have ever needed, will I ever forget that? And as for love, well, one day she's going to go out there (where there is, I don't know and I'm not ready to think about it) and find it, and maybe lose it, but I hope she knows where she can come to whenever she needs her heart filled up.

So this is the beginning of my life story as to be told, summer time has just opened that door ;)