Five Months

This little cutie is FIVE months old today!

Archers

The regional park near our house offers all kinds of programs for kids. When I saw they offered a beginner archery class, I signed up the three big boys.

Jerry took them to the park and attended the class with them.

Each of them received a certificate of completion and can now move on to the second class if they are interested.

New Bikes

Eli and Justus got a special birthday surprise today. 

Brand new bikes! Both boys were very excited!

POTUS

We got a call from Jerry this morning letting us know that President Obama was going to be landing at the airport right next to his office. Actually, for security reasons his office was to be on lockdown most of the afternoon while the President was arriving and driving by. I decided to load everyone up and go over to watch Air Force One land and the President drive by. We aren't really fans of Obama or his policies, but thought it would be a good learning experience.

Turns out several other people had the same idea. Jerry's office became a refuge for onlookers. [Funny side story, one of the families in Jerry's office had some chips as a snack. Their kids made a big mess of crumbs and they weren't sure what to do with them. So I watched as they picked up the chip crumbs and dumped them in the potted plant. We had a good chuckle about that!]

We waited a long time and finally we saw Air Force One in the distance.

We explained to the boys why this is a pretty special plane. I thought it looked especially majestic with the mountains in the background.

A few minutes after it was on the ground the motorcade went by. We waved but couldn't see much through the tinted windows.

Once the president went by the security was lightened up and we were able to leave.

Jerry wrote up a little piece about the whole experience for the LaForce Ledger.

Chinese New Year

We got a nice Chinese New Year learning packet free from Panda Express. We watched a video about Chinese New Year and did some of the activities included in the packet. One of our favorites was making little paper lanterns. I think they turned out really nice.

 They looked especially nice lit up with a battery operated candle in the dark.

Mining Camp

When Pa and Grandma were here visiting, they treated us to dinner at the Mining Camp. It was quite a drive, but worth it. The restaurant is located right at the base of the Superstition Mountains and the scenery is so pretty.

The kids really enjoyed it. The food was pretty good, but it was really about the atmosphere and the fun of being there with Pa and Grandma.

I took this photo of the sunset and city lights as we were leaving.

Go Pack Go

We may have moved away, but we'll always be Packer fans! Go Pack Go!

Arizona Breakfast

Well, as long as we are now living in Arizona we might as well start eating like it! This was Jerry's breakfast this morning. Eggs and a homemade tamale from co-worker Hugo's mom. In an effort to keep it a little bit midwestern, he had a Bloody Mary with it.

Last Makeover

We have been fans of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (or just "Makeover" as we like to call it) since it first started. The kids have enjoyed watching it over the years. We even drove down to watch a bit of filming a few years ago when they weren't to far from us in Wisconsin.

So, tonight we popped some popcorn and let the boys stay up for the last episode in the series. It was a special treat!

Some of us didn't quite make it to the end.

Almost Rolling

Annabeth is very close to rolling over. Here she is practicing and sucking her thumb. What a good little multi-tasker she is!

I love the angle of this shot!

Phoenix Zoo

While Roz was here we decided to take everyone to the Phoenix Zoo. It was quite a drive from our house in Queen Creek. We packed a picnic to enjoy so we didn't have to spend a small fortune on zoo food. It was fun to see some animals that we didn't have at the zoo in Wisconsin.

Hayden and Annabeth chatted with the monkeys. I think the monkeys were actually very interested in the baby! This one starred at her for a long time. 

In person, you could clearly tell this was not a real animal; however, the camera sure makes it look like Justus is riding a stag for real.

Of course, we had to take a photo of Roz by her favorite animal! This was just a giraffe statue, not the real thing. We did see some real giraffes too.

Eli really enjoyed the petting zoo. Once we buy a house we really need to get some goats for him to cuddle with!

I took this photo of Roz and when we got home she posted it on Facebook saying she was enjoying her time in Mexico. Several people actually believed her!

We had a good time. The weather was beautiful. Hard to believe it's January!

AZ Family

While Roz was here we had a get together with ALL the family. We invited the Carlson Family to join us as well. It has been many, many years since this group was all together. Actually, this group has never been together because when we moved to Wisconsin in 2000 more than half of these people didn't exist!

It was also a good opportunity to get a photo of the whole Shown Family together for the first time since the addition of Annabeth and Joe's family.

Speaking of Joe's family, here they are…

Late Christmas

While Roz is here we headed down to have a late Christmas with Grandma Joddy and Grandpa Steve. We visited and exchanged gifts.

Grandma Joddy had gotten out Jerry's old BB gun for him to take home. So, we set up a few soda cans and shot at them.

Annabeth cuddled with Grandma everyone else was having target practice.

Everyone took a turn. Even Roz!

 Nothing says Merry Christmas like guns, right?