My Birthday

My 37th Birthday

I officially no longer like my birthdays. I think I'm getting a little too close to 40. But, I'm trying to not focus too much on that. I tell my kids I still remember what it's like to be a teenager, but for some reason, they don't believe me. A few days after my birthday, a bunch of us went to lunch to celebrate my b-day as well as Karrin's and Crystal's. The funny thing was that Crystal is 10 years younger than me. She turned 27 and I turned 37!! I really feel like we're the same age! Here are a couple pics from Cravings:

On my actual birthday, we decided to spend the afternoon with the kids, and take them to dinner that night. Matt came home early and I had a few visits from some of my favorite girls-the 6th grade girls from church. I've really gotten really close with these awesome girls. I always joke that they're Brayden's harem, but they're like daughters to me. Devin Palmer and Rylee Christenson stopped by after school with a cute card and some other fun things. They are so sweet. Rahgan Jenson brought over some cookies.

Devin, Rylee, me and Brayden

These girls really boost my confidence!

We went to dinner that night at El Rico's-a yummy kid-friendly Mexican restaurant. Matt's brother, Mark, was still in town, so he joined us as well.

Mia and Uncle Mark

That night, Allie Hancock and CJ Galvan came over to "heart attack" me and tried to do really wimpy TP job to my house, but Mia caught them.

Allie, CJ, me and Amy

Check out that impressive TP job!

Allie's ready to attack Brayden with a heart on a popsicle stick!

Everyone came inside for cake and ice cream. We didn't have candles except some number ones. We came up with 3, 4 and 1 which represented 3x4+1=37. My kids do know math!

The Christenson's came over and brought Rylee and Devin back. My low-key birthday ended up with a lot of kids-which I love!

When I took down all the "heart attack" sticks, I had to take a picture of them. They cracked me up. They know how to make me feel good by telling me that I look young! Keep them coming girls!!! They are so sweet. Thanks for making it such a great birthday, girls!

Phoenix Suns Game

Suns Basketball Game

We went to a Phoenix Suns game with our friends, Troy and Sarah Plewe. We've known them for a long time and I have been friends with Troy since I was bout 14. We had a great time. The Suns won by about 50 points, so it wasn't the most exciting game, but it was still fun to get out for the night and hang out with some good friends. Matt's brother, Mark, was in town for business and came with us as well. We were in Matt's firm's suite which was really nice. The only other time I have been in it was when I took Mia to see the gymnastics all-stars!

Matt and I

Sarah and I

Troy and Sarah

Matt and his brother, Mark.

January 2009

January 2009

I'm getting so behind, I just wanted to recap what we did this past month.

Super Bowl 2009

Actually on Feb. 1, not January, but close enough. Once the Arizona Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl, it was pretty much AZ Cardinal fever everywhere. On the Friday before the Super Bowl, the kids were able to dress down that day if they were wearing Cardinals shirts. Brayden, being a "cool" sixth grader, wore red knee-high socks to complete his outfit!

Of course I had to go out and buy them Larry Fitzgerald shirts!

On Superbowl Sunday, the Harris' came over for dinner to watch the very disappointing Super Bowl. Even though the Cards lost, it was so fun to actually have a team we cared about in the Super Bowl.

Chase showing off his Cardinal body art!!! I found that all my eyeliner had been used for his masterpiece on his face!

We even had Cardinal cupcakes! Mia, Sophie and Jillian wanted to show theirs off!

Girls' Night Out

We decided to have a girls' night out at a different restaurant each month. For the first official one, we went to Red, White and Brew. Thanks, Kristen, for planning it!

Running Club Race

My 3 oldest kids are all in the running club at their school. They ran their first race in January. Being a distance runner myself, I had high hopes for my kids in their mile and half race. They all did really well. I also think they have a new admiration of their mom running 26.2 miles!

Brayden running through the finish line.

Chase totally sprinted through the finish line.

Mia was actually running when as she finished, but her main concern was getting an Otter Pop.

Chase with his good friend, Gavin.
The kids with some of their friends after the race.

Chase and Devin.

Preschool Field Trip to the Fire Station

Shining Stars Preschool took a trip to one of the Gilbert Fire Stations. The twins were so excited to go see the fire trucks. They were disappointed to see that the fire trucks were white instead of red. Fortunately they had an old fire truck on display that was red.

The firefighter put on all of his gear and let the kids touch him. Riley wouldn't go near him, but Tanner was brave enough to feel his coat.

The best part of the field trip was the free fire helmets! We finished the day with a trip to Chick-fil-a.

Moms of the Year!

Amy, Terri, Vonda, Michelle and I all decided to have lunch with our kids on the same day. We all have 6th graders and we thought we better have lunch with them while they still want us around. For some reason, I think they won't want us to eat lunch with them at middle school. Terri and Amy ended up bringing their husbands too. We had so many people, the lunch workers gave us all our own table.

Brayden had Jack and Cameron eat with us too. Brayden's bangs look about 12 inches tall! Thanks to gel, he was still able to spike it up.

I just love all these girls - CJ, Allie, Devin Rahgan and McKenna. They're all like adopted daughters to me.

Cute little Allie and CJ