Phoenix Zoo

After a "fun" hour and a half at the DMV this morning we spent the rest of the day at the Phoenix Zoo. We didn't tell the kids we were going to the Zoo and it was a big surprise! Brooke was so excited! The day was perfect. The zoo was so nice and different from the L.A. Zoo. The weather was nice and warm with a cool breeze and the zoo was not busy at all. Brooke was able to feed a giraffe...the highlight of her day! I was so excited for her, she loved every minute of that experience. Brody is still a bit young so I'm very much looking forward to having him experience this in a few years.
We had a fantastic time. Brooke's favorite animals were the giraffe and elephant and I think Brody enjoyed his snacks, birds and the iguana, even though he looks a bit worried looking at him....(see pic above).
We can't wait to go back. Bryan bought us annual passes to I'm thinking there will be plenty more trips to the zoo in the future.Enjoy!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!! What a fantastic day it has been. Church is super early for us, 8:30am, so I was up at six getting myself ready then the kids. After I dolled them up I took some pictures of them outside, grabbed breakfast for them and we were off to church. Sacrament meeting was great. The Easter bunny,(me), left after Sacrament meeting to head home and hide Easter baskets and candy filled eggs around the house. I made it back to pick everyone up after the 2 hour block of classes and Brooke was so excited to head home and see if the Easter bunny had dropped off goodies at home. We walked in and she quickly found eggs and her Easter basket in her room. The Easter bunny even made her bed and her Cinderella and Ariel dolls were watching over her basket! Brody found his hiding behind our chair in the living room and was ready to chow down on some candy.
The kids enjoyed their baskets while I made lunch. As a treat, during lunch I had cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. Our house smelled so yummy and warm. We finished lunch and all of us were ready for a nap. We napped until 3:00pm and then we all watched Tangled and chowed down on some candy. The Easter bunny was so awesome and included that in Brooke's Easter basket. During our movie our sweet neighbors dropped off two bottles of wine for us on our front door. We didn't know they were there until our other neighbor dropped by asking to use our can opener. I absolutely love our neighbors so much! After that we finished the movie and I made dinner. Bryan BBQ'd some steaks while I made some yummy side dishes. Brooke and Brody requested their Kraft mac and cheese.
I snuck away while the kids were downstairs enjoying their Easter goodies to blog about how fantastic this day has been. Enjoy! I even snuck in one picture of me with Brooke ( Bo was done with pictures and didn't want to take one with me, such a boy!) since I never seem to make an appearance on my blog. I always forget to get pictures of Bryan and I because I'm so focused on pictures of the kids! Typical mommy!
Happy Easter! Enjoy!

Ward Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we attended our Ward Easter egg hunt and it was SO much fun! There was yummy food and plenty of eggs for the children. The children were separated into age groups, 0-3, 4-7, 8-10. Luckily we brought two cameras and Bryan took Bo while I went with Brooke.
Brooke darted off with her friends and took mommy's advice of not stopping for the first eggs in front but ran clear to the very back and she and her friend had their pick of eggs in the back corner...it's all about good strategy right?
In typical Brody fashion he hung on Bryan's leg (see photo above) but then quickly got the hang of it and took off hunting for eggs.
We had a fantastic time. Happy Easter my friends and family!! Enjoy!!!

Popcorn Lover

This little boy of mine is a popcorn lover. Everyday I hear "Mama, Mama..MAMA! Snack peeeesss!"
I reply, "Ok my Bo, what would you like?"
While running to my pantry he yells rather loudly, "Pop pops!"
We have been in a popcorn obsession now for about a month. The other snacks that fill our pantry, have taken a back seat....for now.

This little monster, I mean boy of mine brings me such great joy. I can't imagine life without my little Bo. Brody makes me laugh out loud everyday and I don't even know where to begin with all the little mischievous things he does. Right before dinner today I caught him red handed with our tub of redvines and he was going to town on them. Lately Brody has been a bit mommy obsessed. I won't lie it makes me feel good, Brooke has always been so independent so it's nice for a change to have my little one hang on my leg and bury has face in my bum saying "Mama, mama, mama I yaahh shooo!" (I love you).
Brody adores Brooke or "Broo" so much and she is such a wonderful and loving big sister to him. I'm one very blessed mama with some pretty wonderful little ones.

Dying Easter Eggs

Monday we dyed Easter eggs. Brooke had so much fun as always she is up for anything at anytime. Brody is still a bit young and refused to pose for any pictures and decided that a snack and as he calls it "play" or playing with his cars was much more fun than coloring hard boiled eggs. Our eggs turned out great and Brooke was such a great helper and decorator. We can't wait for all the fun Easter activities we have planned for this weekend!

The Kitchen

The kitchen. My heaven. One of my most favorite rooms in our house is the kitchen. When we toured our house my mouth dropped at the size of the island. I have dreamned of owning a home with a giant island. I think I turned to Bryan and whispered "I want this house," upon seeing the kitchen. Since moving in we've made only one minor change. The chandelier the house came with was stainless steel and I didnt think it would match our furniture selections so I went to Lowes and picked out a bronze chandelier and Bryan installed it. I think it looks great. Bryan is so wonderful and I'll admit he let me pick out pretty much everything we bought as far as our furniture purchases, as long as it fit within our budget. I saw a dining room table, similiar to the one we purchased, in a magazine and loved the distressed black/ebony look. To me it screamed comfortable yet beautiful and elegant. I didn't think I would be able to find it but after searching through tons of furniture stores I found one so similair. I was so excited. The China hutch matches the table, it was in the same furniture set as the dining table, and holds Bryan's grandma's complete china set she graciously handed down to us.
The painting pictured was one of my last purchases for the kitchen. It took forever to find something to fill that wall. Of course when you are not looking it comes right to you. I bought this painting from the Dessert Book Store I visited last week in Mesa. It is an artists depiction of the Sacred Grove, and as soon as I saw it I just had to have this in my home. Intrestingly the store clerk shared with me that this is a fairly new depiction of the Sacred Grove and most likely far more accurate than others because of the seasonal time frame at which the event occured in New York.
The only change that I'm hoping will happen in the next five years would be to install plantation shutters throughout the enitre house. Right now I have them at the face of the house to give the illusion that I have them throughout. I've had many comments about putting curtains up behind the dining room table and into the family room but I feel as if it would be a temporary fix for what I'm hoping to do down the road. So the window treatments there now will have to do and sereve as a reminder of what I hope to do in the very disitant future because those shutters are incredibly pricey.
Next week I'm hoping our couch will come...finally! Look for more pics soon!