2012 Cross-Country Road Trip Part IV--McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, Scottsdale, AZ

After our visit in Albuquerque, we visited with my Dad in Scottsdale. Every time we visit, we HAVE to take the boys to the Railroad Park. With a train to ride, a carousel, and a huge play scape, what's not to love?



Joshua, Josiah, and Jonathan. I don't know why they always insist on crowding into this little car, but they do. Every time.



See? It's teeny. I'm waaaay to claustrophobic to get in there!




The adults, along with Jeremiah and Joanna, rode on the open-air benches instead. Jeremiah looks thrilled, dontcha think?



Joanna was thrilled! She smiled and giggled the whole ride.







The boys waiting their turn on the carousel...



Jordan



Joanna and Peepah



Josiah loved the horses! I had so much fun watching him.









Joshua



Time for an ice cream break!






Then it was off to the play scape!







My little human bulldozer...







Joanna



Jonathan and Joshua liked this spinning thing.






Jordan having fun...



Even a princess must play in the dirt every now and again!



My cutie-pie Josiah!

Hope y'all enjoyed the pictures! I'm off to finish up school and do some sewing. I've got several projects calling! :)

Family Fun in Times Square

Saturday we took the kids into NYC. I had a lunch date with a couple of girlfriends for a friend's birthday planned, but nothing to do afterward. So we decided to all go, so that after lunch we could do something in the city as a family. We don't get back to the city as often as we'd like lately.

After having lunch with my friends, I walked through Times Square to the pizza joint where Jeremy and the kids were eating. Along the way, a man advertising some show or other spun around and nearly ran into me.

I didn't expect him to say "Excuse me," or anything, after all this is the most tourist-y area in NYC, and the locals have that reputation of rudeness to maintain. But I certainly didn't expect what he DID say:

"Ooh, you look like a hot librarian!" Um, what? I gave him my most withering look, to which he replied, "No, really, that's a compliment!" Uh, okay then. I'm still puzzled over just whom that line might actually work for.

I made the mistake of telling Jeremy, who thought that was just the funniest thing he'd ever heard. He's used the same line on me at least 3 times now in the past 24 hours. Then he cracks up all over again. Niiiiiiiiiice.

We took the kids to their favorite places in Times Square--M&Ms World, the Hershey Store (see a theme, here?) and Toys R Us. We also went to the new (to us) Disney Store which replaced the old World of Disney on 5th Avenue. (For the record, I liked the 5th Avenue location better! Oh, well!) Joanna spent the whole time at The Disney Store running from princess dress to princess dress and exclaiming, "I YIKE dat one! I YIKE dat one!" Over and over again. And she picked up and kissed the plush dolls. Such a girly girl!


Josiah and Joanna in M&Ms World



What usually happens when we try to get a group picture...seriously, this was the BEST one.



Joey



Help! I'm being eaten by a giant M&M!!!



This is baby girl after getting her M&Ms, but being told she couldn't have any until we paid for them.

This is her newest reaction to Things Of Which She Does NOT Approve, which are basically any activities that were not her idea to begin with. We're working on it. Going limp and flopping down on the ground makes any activity difficult, especially in a crowded store in Times Square.



The boys found their "color mood." I think Jon was hoping for a more bold, masculine color.



Josiah in the Hershey Store. We went there next, since we needed more chocolate.



Daddy and Joanna checking out the animatronic dinosaur in Toys R Us. The boys LOVE this thing. Joanna was unimpressed.

At this point the little kid meltdowns were outpacing the big kid fun, so we called it a day and headed home.

Two days later, I think we are FINALLY over the sugar rush!

Less Of Me To Go Around...

...or that's what I'm hoping for, anyway!

(And no, that doesn't mean there's another J-kid on the way!)

I'm literally going for less, as in 20 lbs. less. I set a goal at the beginning of February to lose 20 lbs. by the end of May. I'm hoping that will be enough to get me back into my collection of size 8/10 summer clothes. Due to 2 pregnancies and the shorter summer season here, I haven't worn them since we left Texas. Nearly 4 years ago. Yikes!

I'm also hoping that this change will help with another goal: to actually get dressed in cute clothes every day. Yes, my usual uniform if we're not leaving the house is a pair of sweat pants and a long-sleeved tee, covered by a hoodie. Not exactly cute or attractive, lol. The primary challenge to this goal is that I have NO fashion sense. AT ALL.

So I'm going to need some help...but first I'm going to drop this 20 lbs. of baby weight!

I pulled out my Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds DVD today and did the first 2 miles. I thought *pant* I was *wheeze* going to *gasp* DIE!! And this is the same program that I used to do all 5 miles of while hardly breaking a sweat! I have my work cut out for me. Baby steps, right?

In other exciting news, I'm changing my name and moving...

to Wordpress! (He he he, had you going for just a second, didn't I? *grin*)

More on that later, since I still have to pick a host and then transfer everything. I'll keep y'all posted! :)

Awwwwwww!!

A certain little scrumptiously-dimpled cutie pie...




Is now sporting 2 cute little teeth!!




Isn't he adorable?!?! *grin*

Minute To Win It -- J-Boys Edition

What do you get when you combine a tray full of random craft supplies and household objects, 4 very active boys, and a little bit of imagination? Well, you get "Minute to Win It," J-boys style!

We took most of the day off on Valentine's Day. Even Jeremy took time off since he had a business engagement in the city that evening, so wanted to take time during the day to hang out with the kids. We played a few board games, but I could tell the boys needed something to do that was fun and ACTIVE!



So I ran around the house and started gathering items, many from our extensive collection of kids' craft supplies. I put instructions on index cards for each activity, then we all sat in the living room while the little ones napped and did silly things like:



Transferring pom poms from one bowl to another one a couple feet away using spoons held in our mouths...



Stringing colored noodles onto yarn using only one hand...






Stacking paper cup towers...











Using rubber bands to "shoot" down toilet paper tubes...






Flipping pennies from a craft stick onto a plate below...






Sorting foam shapes into bowls--blindfolded...









Throwing marshmallows into the air and catching them in our mouths...






Balancing a bunch of pennies on the end of a craft stick...






Catching giant pom poms in styrofoam bowls tied to our heads...









Keeping a feather in the air by blowing on it...












And rolling little styrofoam balls through a paper towel tube into a container on the floor.










We didn't play by the official TV show rules. Instead we divided into teams and did face-offs, with the winner being the one to stack/string/catch/sort/shoot the most in 1 minute's time. We pulled out our iPhones to use as timers. (Yes, I use my apps far FAR more often than I actually use the phone part, ha ha!)

The J-boys best events? Here's the recap:

Joshua could keep a feather aloft with only his breath longer than anyone else.
Jonathan sorted shapes blindfolded in record time.
Jordan was a pro at catching pom poms in a bowl on his head.
Joseph could stack cups higher than any of the other boys...

I emphasize boys because the overall champion cup-stacker was Jeremy. And I was the best at throwing marshmallows up into the air and catching them in my mouth--I only missed twice in 1 minute...I think I caught 10. Bet ya didn't know I was so talented!! :)