The One with the Gingerbread Baby

Talan's kindergarten class had an Author's Tea.  Each kid picked a topic to write and illustrate for their own book.  Then they got to read them aloud for their classmates and parents. 

When we got there, we saw a list of all the titles and most of them were about pets, best friends, favorite toys, etc.  Then we came to Talan's title...The Gingerbread Baby.  Hmmm, we weren't really sure what to think about that.  When his turn came, he read his book and gave his memorized introduction for the next student.  We were so proud of how good he did!  I'm sure I'm a little biased, but his book was definitely one of the most creative.  Most of the kids told about themselves and started every sentence with, "I like...".  Talan's book told a story about a gingerbread baby who was in the forest.  He cut down a tree, walked home, and saw a deer.   

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In the back of the book there were pages for people to write notes to the author.  I found this little gem from Talan's daddy and couldn't resist taking a picture of it. 

I love Steve!

The One with the Girl Baby

Last week Tatum told Grandma Janice, "Guess what?!  My mom is having a girl baby!"  So not true.  Also, everytime we go to the store she asks if I need to buy some girl clothes or a pink carseat for my new girl baby. 

The timing couldn't have been better for a new girl baby...cousin, thanks to Moni and Gary. 

Averi May Cartee was born at 10:39 am on Thursday, May 10.  She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 20 in long. 

She is precious.  ALMOST makes me want another girl baby...

The One with Pat's Run

I forced convinced Steve to do Pat's Run with me again this year, and this time Talan and Tatum were old enough to do the kid's race.  They were beyond excited to get to do their own race.  They even trained for a few months before, either running on the treadmill or outside around the block.

 
Tobin supervised to make sure they didn't stop running.

It turned out to be one of the best weekends we've had in a long time, although it sure didn't start out that way.  A day before we were supposed to leave I came down with strep throat, for the second time in a week.  Tatum was up all night with diarrhea and throwing up.  And Steve really wanted to stay and start working on the watering system because this was the first good weekend he'd had to do in a while.  BUT we had signed up for the race long ago so at the last minute we trudged ahead and went.  Right before we got to Payson, Talan threw up.  Our kids have never gotten car sick before so we figured he caught what Tatum had.  But he swore he was just car sick, and he had been playing his DS on that curvy road.  After pulling over for awhile and cleaning up, he seemed to be fine but we were still weary.  We finally decided to just turn around and go back home.  We started driving towards Winslow for a few miles when Steve made an executive decision to turn back around.  He figured with his parent's house in Gilbert, we had all the comforts of home down there.  Best decision of our life. 

Steve and I ran the whole 4.2 mile race together, even holding hands as we crossed the finish line.  I think he secretly enjoyed running it this time!
 

 

Kalli babysat for us while we ran, and then when our race was over it was time for the kid's .42 mile race.  They killed it!  Never stopped and wouldn't let another kid get past them. 

We rode the Light Rail to get to and from the stadium at ASU.  The kids had a blast riding on a train, and we had a blast not having to look for a parking spot. 

 We ate lunch at the brand new Rudy's that just opened in Chandler.  It was amazing!!

We also went to Ikea, where the kids played and we shopped a little.  Then we finished off the weekend swimming with cousins at Moni's house. 

Larissa and Jason were supposed to do Pat's Run with us, but (surprise, surprise) Larissa wasn't feeling good so they came later in the day.  But they still got to spend most of the weekend with us so it was all good. 

Best Weekend Ever.

The One Where We All Got Strep

Things I've learned about Strep:

1. It can come back.  Talan and I both had it twice in a 3 week period. 
2. It causes some people to throw up and have diarrhea.  At first I was furious and confused as to how we could have both strep AND a stomach bug.  Turns out the strep causes the lining in your stomach to become inflamed.  Who knew?
3. It is highly contagious.  All five of us, plus the boy I babysit, a few lucky family members, and friends were infected.  Sorry guys!
4. It doesn't matter if you've had your tonsils out.  Steve never gets Strep, let alone sore throats because he had his tonsils out when he was a kid.  Not this time; even he had a bad sore throat. 
5. It can spread to your skin and cause impetigo.  Poor Talan had horrible, itchy, sores all over his legs and arms. 
6. It won't cause a sore throat in everyone.  Tatum never once complained of a sore throat.  Instead she had a low grade fever, diarrhea, and throwing up.  I never got her checked because her lack of a sore throat.  Poor girl had it for probably two weeks because her mom is an idiot. 
7. It is of the DEVIL.  It makes you feel horrible, and tries to ruin things you have planned.  Like going to Pat's Run and getting a really good time, or putting a new watering system in your yard, or hanging out with your friends who are visiting from Pittsburgh. 

The One with the Biking Ballerina

Tatum learned to ride a bike about a month ago, but this afternoon when she had her ballerina suit on and started riding I couldn't resist taking pictures.  Plus, I've been meaning to write a post about her riding without training wheels for awhile now but I've been too lazy busy.  Talan was 4 when he learned and we thought that was a big deal.  Tatum is only 3 and picked up on it quick.  But then again she has always been a little superstar.  At least to us. 

Pushing off and starting herself. 

Going.

Going.

Gone.

 Home stretch.

Big finish.

Superstar.

The One with the Easter Weekend

It was a busy, but blessed Easter weekend. 

We celebrated Steve's birthday with a huge dinner at Outback.  He picked a new gun and got to go shoot it a few times. 

We had a small, impromptu, surprise baby shower for Moni.  It was priceless.  She was so emotional that she cried for the first 30 minutes.

We dyed eggs and made an Easter dinner feast (Smoked ham and turkey, potato salad, green beans, deviled eggs, rolls).

Finally, we had a wonderful Easter morning.  We are all about the chocolate, Easter Bunny, and eggs but we really tried to teach the kids the real reason we celebrate Easter.  We did a spiritual activity every night the previous week to help us focus on our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

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The One with the San Diego Spring Break

This is a conversation we had during breakfast a month ago:

Talan:  "Mom, are dragons real?"
Me:  "No."

Tatum:  "Are unicorns real?"
Me:  "Nope."

Talan:  "Well, are zoos real?"
Me:  "Uh, yes.  Yes they are."

Me:  "Steve, we NEED to take our kids to the zoo."
Steve:  "How about we go to San Diego for Spring Break?"

Tatum:  "Are we going to see dinosaurs at the zoo?"
Talan:  "No, they are extinct!"
Tatum:  "Well how about butterflies?"


It seems the kids were a little confused about what animals you could see at a zoo, and what better place and time to visit one than in San Diego for spring break?  We were all in need of a little getaway, except Tatum was truly disappointed we weren't going to see dinosaurs.  I invited my parents to join us since we had the room in my car and my mom actually had the same spring break as us. 

The first night when we got on the elevator at our hotel we saw a girl from Winslow...small world!

Day 1:  San Diego Zoo, sight-seeing, dinner in Old Town.

Talan's favorite animals were the gorillas. 

Tobin's favorite part was pushing the stroller around.

Tatum is STILL looking for butterflies.

Day 2:  Sea World

Our friends from Winslow were here today, too, so it was fun to see them.  The kids loved everything at Sea World, except Tatum was pretty sad she wasn't tall enough to go on the roller coaster.  When the lady measured her she stood up tall on her tipppy-toes, but that didn't fool her. 

Day 3:  Beach

The weather in San Diego was pretty chilly, which we were kind of expecting.  We still had a blast at the beach, and got to swim in the heated hotel pool afterward. 

We finished off with dinner at Anthony's Fish Grotto on the pier.  Needless to say, I only ordered water.  I'm sticking to my rule:  If it lived in the water, I don't eat it. 


This wasn't one of those vacations where you need a vacation from your vacation.  It was actually very pleasant.  The kids were great on the drive (minus about 30 minutes), there weren't big crowds, and our hotel room had bunk beds so the kids were in heaven.  We also found an amazing restaurant for breakfast called Du-Pars.  I don't even really like pancakes, but these were delicious.  If you're ever in California I recommend you look one up.