After the Jack Hanna show on 1/26, we ate dinner at Gentle Ben's. Paul and I both got food poisoning. We were sicker than dogs the next day. Neither of us could take Nathan to school so he was not happy about that. He likes his new class now.
On Wednesday, 1/29, I spent like 5 hours at Pep Boys with Paul's Grand Am. I went for an oil change, but ended up getting brake pads, too. We plan to sell the car soon and we will probably be buying a Ford Fusion Hybrid.
On Friday, 1/31, I went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies. I have been so disappointed in their display this year. I only saw like a handful of different kinds of butterflies. It really does not compare to Butterfly Wonderland. Afterward, I stopped by Fort Lowell Park to take pictures of the ducks and birds. I only saw two kinds of birds, the woodpecker and the kingfisher. The kingfisher did its best to escape me, but I did get one picture of it.
This weekend Paul got another ear infection. He and Nathan spent most of Saturday at CVS Minute Clinic.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Busy weekend ahead
Nathan is still doing well in his new class. He only had one pushing incident on Wednesday, but today he was good. He even told me today that he likes his new class.
On 1/12, we took Nathan to Arthur Pack Park to ride his Harley big wheel. He used to not use the pedals. Not only does he use the pedals now, but he goes fast! He may be ready for a big boy bike soon.
I took Nathan to the Childrens Museum on 1/14.
Nathan made a train drawing for Aunt Tracy on 1/16.
On Saturday, 1/18, we went to Phoenix. I went to Butterfly Wonderland while the boys went to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. Then we all went to Phoenix Zoo.
1/19 marked the one year anniversary for our doggies! One year ago we adopted them.
Nathan picked out his clothes and dressed himself on 1/21. He wore red pants with an orange Snoopy Halloween shirt.
Tomorrow (1/25) we are going to Monster Jam in Phoenix.
Sunday (1/26) we are going to see Jack Hanna. I won tickets!
On 1/12, we took Nathan to Arthur Pack Park to ride his Harley big wheel. He used to not use the pedals. Not only does he use the pedals now, but he goes fast! He may be ready for a big boy bike soon.
I took Nathan to the Childrens Museum on 1/14.
Nathan made a train drawing for Aunt Tracy on 1/16.
On Saturday, 1/18, we went to Phoenix. I went to Butterfly Wonderland while the boys went to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. Then we all went to Phoenix Zoo.
1/19 marked the one year anniversary for our doggies! One year ago we adopted them.
Nathan picked out his clothes and dressed himself on 1/21. He wore red pants with an orange Snoopy Halloween shirt.
Tomorrow (1/25) we are going to Monster Jam in Phoenix.
Sunday (1/26) we are going to see Jack Hanna. I won tickets!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Nathan updates
So when I took Nathan to school on Wednesday, 1/8, they asked me if we wanted to try out the new class that day. So Nathan started in the 4 year old class. He had been wanting to move to move to the new class ever since we first mentioned it to him as a possibility, but that day when it was actually happening he said he wanted to go back to Ms. Twyla's class. I think he just got scared so I told him to try out this class and if he does not like it than maybe he could go back to the other class. I told him that he will never know if he likes or it not unless he tries and that I thought he was going to like it. He did really good. Ms Monica said that he behaved great. The other kids are really good with him, too. They know that he is a little younger than them so they try to help him and they are patient with him. He had to get used to the fast pace of the class because they quickly move from one thing to another and it is very structured. He did not get a lot of time to play with toys which is one thing that he did not like. She said that she is a little worried that he may get frustrated academically because they are doing stuff that may be over his head right now. She is not too concerned about it on her end because he will be doing it all again next year, but she just does not want him to get frustrated. She said she may even give him different worksheets to do in the class than what the rest of the kids are doing. They do things like recognizing the letters of the alphabet, knowing the sounds of the letters including the short vowels, counting up to 100, writing letters and numbers, reading 2 and 3 letter words, basic math like 1+1 or 1-0, memorizing bible verses, etc... Ms Monica said that she would like 1 or 2 more trial days in the class, but that she would talk to the office about it. Nathan seemed to enjoy himself that day and was pretty talkative and happy all night. Yet a couple of times he still said that he wanted to go back to Ms Twyla's class. I think it is because it is still new to him and he doesn't know the kids very well yet.
Nathan had his 4 year old wellness appointment at the pediatrician's office on 1/9. The time of the appointment was not very good because he did not get to take much of a nap. I think he was pretty tired and so he was not as cooperative as I wanted him to be. But, the doctor does not seem to have any concerns. We discussed the school situation and that he is trying out the 4 year old class. She agreed that it will probably be good for him. We also discussed that we may be starting up speech therapy again and she agreed that may help him, too. He did not talk much that day for her to hear his speech, but he did say at least one sentence so she was pleased to see that he was at least speaking in sentences. She did not seem to be too concerned about the fact that Nathan sleeps in our room most nights. She said it is very common for kids his age to get scared at night and she said this could go on for a couple of years. They tested his hearing, too. He did not do very well distinguishing which ear he heard the beeps is, but that is because he still gets his left and right confused. They said that is common, too and at this age they just want to see if he can hear the beeps at all...some kids won't even sit down for the test. They had me fill out a form while we were there where I basically had to ask Nathan a bunch of questions such as a to draw a circle, draw a person, balance on one foot, what does he do when he is hungry, etc... I had to answer questions like if he dresses himself, brushes his own teeth, etc... I did not complete it until the end of his visit and we never went over it while we were there. They just want to make sure that he can do most of the things that he should be doing as a 4 year old and I think that he can. I guess they will let me know otherwise. He weighed 38 lbs (60%) and is 41" tall (75%).
So on Friday, 1/10, I went to the school office since I had not heard which class he would be going to. Ms Monica happened to be in there. They told me that he would be in there for a month. A month? That seems odd to me. What happens after a month if it does not work out...he is just supposed to go back to Ms Twyla's class and get all acclimated again? Sometimes I do not know about that school. They also asked me if we do play dates or anything like that with Nathan since they know that he is an only child and Ms Monica noticed that he played by himself a lot in her class that first day. I got a little defensive and told them that we do not know many people here in Tucson and our neighbors don't really talk to us so no we do not. They asked what about the kids from his class. I said, well now he is in a new class with all new kids who he does not know yet. I told them that we tried library time when he was younger, but that it would not go well because he was too disruptive and would not sit still. I said we could try it again now that he is younger. I told him the main reason we started him at this school in the first place was to get him more social with other kids. Unfortunately, Nathan's leg was hurting that day because he got shots the day before at the doctor. The school called me that morning to see if I would come give him some Tylenol for the pain. So I did. I guess he did better after that. He had another good day. He did have a little more interaction with the kids that day and I told her that I thought he would be more social as he gets to know the kids better. She actually gave us homework for the weekend (not sure if this will be an every day thing, M-W-F when he goes or a weekly thing). He is supposed to work on writing the letter Q. She said mostly she wants him to hold the pencil correctly. He is also supposed to trace all of the letters and start matching up the capital letters with the small letters. I gave this project to daddy, but they have not worked on it yet and it is now Sunday. Yesterday they went to work for a little while and then to the Desert Museum. I also tried to meet them at the Desert Museum, but we never met up...they did their own thing there and I did mine.
I also met with Debi, the speech therapist on Friday to discuss his evaluation results. His receptive language is great. His expressive language is normal for his age. Thus, the numbers do not indicate that he needs speech therapy. However, she still recommends it only because sometimes his difficulties with his speech frustrate him and cause behavioral problems. So I agreed to start speech therapy. He will start on Monday. She said that he is a very smart boy. He knows it all in his head, but he just has trouble getting it out. I really like her, Nathan likes her and I think this experience will be much better than our experience through the state. I hope that he will benefit from it and that he will not have to do speech therapy for very long.
Nathan had his 4 year old wellness appointment at the pediatrician's office on 1/9. The time of the appointment was not very good because he did not get to take much of a nap. I think he was pretty tired and so he was not as cooperative as I wanted him to be. But, the doctor does not seem to have any concerns. We discussed the school situation and that he is trying out the 4 year old class. She agreed that it will probably be good for him. We also discussed that we may be starting up speech therapy again and she agreed that may help him, too. He did not talk much that day for her to hear his speech, but he did say at least one sentence so she was pleased to see that he was at least speaking in sentences. She did not seem to be too concerned about the fact that Nathan sleeps in our room most nights. She said it is very common for kids his age to get scared at night and she said this could go on for a couple of years. They tested his hearing, too. He did not do very well distinguishing which ear he heard the beeps is, but that is because he still gets his left and right confused. They said that is common, too and at this age they just want to see if he can hear the beeps at all...some kids won't even sit down for the test. They had me fill out a form while we were there where I basically had to ask Nathan a bunch of questions such as a to draw a circle, draw a person, balance on one foot, what does he do when he is hungry, etc... I had to answer questions like if he dresses himself, brushes his own teeth, etc... I did not complete it until the end of his visit and we never went over it while we were there. They just want to make sure that he can do most of the things that he should be doing as a 4 year old and I think that he can. I guess they will let me know otherwise. He weighed 38 lbs (60%) and is 41" tall (75%).
So on Friday, 1/10, I went to the school office since I had not heard which class he would be going to. Ms Monica happened to be in there. They told me that he would be in there for a month. A month? That seems odd to me. What happens after a month if it does not work out...he is just supposed to go back to Ms Twyla's class and get all acclimated again? Sometimes I do not know about that school. They also asked me if we do play dates or anything like that with Nathan since they know that he is an only child and Ms Monica noticed that he played by himself a lot in her class that first day. I got a little defensive and told them that we do not know many people here in Tucson and our neighbors don't really talk to us so no we do not. They asked what about the kids from his class. I said, well now he is in a new class with all new kids who he does not know yet. I told them that we tried library time when he was younger, but that it would not go well because he was too disruptive and would not sit still. I said we could try it again now that he is younger. I told him the main reason we started him at this school in the first place was to get him more social with other kids. Unfortunately, Nathan's leg was hurting that day because he got shots the day before at the doctor. The school called me that morning to see if I would come give him some Tylenol for the pain. So I did. I guess he did better after that. He had another good day. He did have a little more interaction with the kids that day and I told her that I thought he would be more social as he gets to know the kids better. She actually gave us homework for the weekend (not sure if this will be an every day thing, M-W-F when he goes or a weekly thing). He is supposed to work on writing the letter Q. She said mostly she wants him to hold the pencil correctly. He is also supposed to trace all of the letters and start matching up the capital letters with the small letters. I gave this project to daddy, but they have not worked on it yet and it is now Sunday. Yesterday they went to work for a little while and then to the Desert Museum. I also tried to meet them at the Desert Museum, but we never met up...they did their own thing there and I did mine.
I also met with Debi, the speech therapist on Friday to discuss his evaluation results. His receptive language is great. His expressive language is normal for his age. Thus, the numbers do not indicate that he needs speech therapy. However, she still recommends it only because sometimes his difficulties with his speech frustrate him and cause behavioral problems. So I agreed to start speech therapy. He will start on Monday. She said that he is a very smart boy. He knows it all in his head, but he just has trouble getting it out. I really like her, Nathan likes her and I think this experience will be much better than our experience through the state. I hope that he will benefit from it and that he will not have to do speech therapy for very long.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
A new year...
Nathan had his Christmas program at school on 12/19. He was certainly the most energetic.
Christmas Day Nathan opened up all of his presents. It was so nice that day that we cooked out and ate outside in our back yard. That evening we went to see the Christmas lights in Winterhaven. This year they no longer have the mule rides so we just walked it. It made for better picture taking.
We went to Sabino Canyon on 12/29. I think we missed the peak of the Fall colors, but it was still pretty and there was water flowing. We took the tram up and started walking down. Nathan got tired halfway so he and daddy took the tram back down. Mommy walked the whole way down! I saw two cardinals that day, too!
I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens on on 12/30 to see the butterflies.
Nathan and I went to the Desert Museum on 12/31. We saw Cruz, the mountain lion, at the window again. We met daddy for dinner at Athens on 4th Avenue. Then we rang in the New Year at home. Nathan loved the noise makers that I bought. We stayed up until 10 and saw New York ring in the New Year on TV.
I turned 39 on 1/2. Not a very good birthday. Nathan was home with me and I spent the whole day cleaning and taking down the ornaments on the tree. It was quite depressing. Next year will be worse because I will be the big 4-0.
Nathan went to school yesterday so I went to La Placita Village, Reid Park (to see the ducks and the rose garden) and to the zoo.
Today we went to a U of A basketball game. Wildcats won!
Nathan's school approached us a week or two ago and asked if we would be interested in moving him up to the 4 year old class. He is one of the oldest in his class and his behavioral problems may be caused by the fact that he is getting bored in class because he already knows a lot of what they are doing in there. He also likes to pick on the other kids, maybe because they are younger and smaller than him. They think socially it could help him a lot and they think he may struggle at first academically, but that he should catch up because he is smart. We agreed, but now they say it is up to Cindy, the Director, and she does not return to school until 1/6. So we will see.
Christmas Day Nathan opened up all of his presents. It was so nice that day that we cooked out and ate outside in our back yard. That evening we went to see the Christmas lights in Winterhaven. This year they no longer have the mule rides so we just walked it. It made for better picture taking.
We went to Sabino Canyon on 12/29. I think we missed the peak of the Fall colors, but it was still pretty and there was water flowing. We took the tram up and started walking down. Nathan got tired halfway so he and daddy took the tram back down. Mommy walked the whole way down! I saw two cardinals that day, too!
I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens on on 12/30 to see the butterflies.
Nathan and I went to the Desert Museum on 12/31. We saw Cruz, the mountain lion, at the window again. We met daddy for dinner at Athens on 4th Avenue. Then we rang in the New Year at home. Nathan loved the noise makers that I bought. We stayed up until 10 and saw New York ring in the New Year on TV.
I turned 39 on 1/2. Not a very good birthday. Nathan was home with me and I spent the whole day cleaning and taking down the ornaments on the tree. It was quite depressing. Next year will be worse because I will be the big 4-0.
Nathan went to school yesterday so I went to La Placita Village, Reid Park (to see the ducks and the rose garden) and to the zoo.
Today we went to a U of A basketball game. Wildcats won!
Nathan's school approached us a week or two ago and asked if we would be interested in moving him up to the 4 year old class. He is one of the oldest in his class and his behavioral problems may be caused by the fact that he is getting bored in class because he already knows a lot of what they are doing in there. He also likes to pick on the other kids, maybe because they are younger and smaller than him. They think socially it could help him a lot and they think he may struggle at first academically, but that he should catch up because he is smart. We agreed, but now they say it is up to Cindy, the Director, and she does not return to school until 1/6. So we will see.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
It's Almost Christmas!
On 11/13, Nathan drew stick figures of mommy and daddy. He is getting much better at drawing, mostly cars, letters, etc...
On 11/21, Nathan and I went to the Desert Museum.
On 11/24, we took Nathan to see Santa at Foothills Mall. They had santa in front of a firehouse in honor of the Hot Shots who died earlier in the year.
On 11/26, Nathan had his Thanksgiving party at school.
For Thanksgiving, 11/28, we went to the Alvirs. Nathan loved playing with Hobbester their cat.
On 12/4, I went to Reid Park Zoo while Nathan was in school.
On 12/7, my parents arrived to spend a week with us for Nathan's birthday.
We took my dad to the Pima Air & Space Museum on 12/8. It was neat because they displayed many planes that look like the planes in the movie Disney Planes.
Grandma, Grandpa, Nathan and I went to see the movie Frozen at the movies on 12/10. Nathan was not enjoying it too much in the beginning. He kept waiting for the snowman to appear. He also got scared in some parts. But, he said it ended well, he liked it and he wants me to buy it when it comes out on DVD.
I took my parents to Butterfly Wonderland on 12/12. I was excited to see their Winter Wonderland display featuring white butterflies, but there were not as many as I had expected. They said they had some unforeseen circumstances so they are gradually increasing the white population. We got to eat at Portillos for lunch! Paul went to the doctor and had his blood tested. His A1C was 9.1 compared to 7.8 the previous visit. His doctor suggested insulin or seeing a pancreatic specialist. He said he did not like either option so he first wants to work on his diet and exercise and see if that makes a difference. It is hard with the holidays, but he has started doing the bike now. We hope to get an elliptical machine next year because we will get a $200 allowance for exercise equipment from Aetna. I am worried about him, though, so I hope that he can get his blood sugar under control.
The Alvirs invited us over on 12/14 to celebrate Christmas and Nathan's birthday. We gave Nathan his monster truck birthday cake and some of his gifts.
Nathan turned 4 on 12/15! We went to church and then he requested to go to Hot Rods for his birthday. We measured Nathan for his 4th birthday and he is almost 42" tall. I also asked him a series of questions that I intend to put in a scrapbook:
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Toy: Cars
Favorite Food: Goldfish
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast: Oatmeal
Favorite thing to eat for lunch: PB&J Sandwiches, Cucumbers and Carrots
Favorite Snack: Scooby Doo or Lightning McQueen Fruit Snacks
Favorite Cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios
Favorite Fruit: Peaches and Apples
Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk
Food you do not like: Lettuce
Favorite Movie: Disney Planes
Favorite thing to wear: Disney Cars and Disney Planes Shirts
Favorite Animal: Mountain Lion
Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Favorite Book: Disney Planes Wings Around the Globe (sound book)
Best Friend: Jade
Favorite Place to go: Children's Museum and Hot Rods Restaurant
Favorite Holiday: Easter
What do you like to take to bed with you at night: All of the toys I can grab!
What do you want to be when you grow up: Race Car Driver
Favorite thing to do at school: Playing with Toys
What is something you are good at: Naming Cars
Grandma and Grandpa left to go back to Chicago on 12/16.
Nathan had a rough day at school last Friday and this past Monday. He also had troubles at Sunday School on his birthday and they said that was unusual. Hopefully, now that his birthday is over and Grandma and Grandpa are gone he will start behaving better. He has also been doing his speech evaluation the last week or so. We will find out the results of that in January.
We have a few large expenses coming up, including new A/C/Furnaces, a new car and new furniture for Nathan's room not to mention other things like a new kitchen table. I am a little worried about our finances next year so I hope Paul gets a good bonus again and that we get a good tax return.
Christmas is almost here and I am not prepared at all. I have to wrap Nathan's presents. Our tree still does not have ornaments and all of our totes are sitting in our living room and family room. I wanted to buy a few more gifts, but I think I have run out of time. Still working on a few Christmas cards, too. I am just so behind this year. In a way it will be a relief when the holidays are over and things slow down a bit so I can catch up. Things have been crazy since we did all of that traveling in October.
On 11/21, Nathan and I went to the Desert Museum.
On 11/24, we took Nathan to see Santa at Foothills Mall. They had santa in front of a firehouse in honor of the Hot Shots who died earlier in the year.
On 11/26, Nathan had his Thanksgiving party at school.
For Thanksgiving, 11/28, we went to the Alvirs. Nathan loved playing with Hobbester their cat.
On 12/4, I went to Reid Park Zoo while Nathan was in school.
On 12/7, my parents arrived to spend a week with us for Nathan's birthday.
We took my dad to the Pima Air & Space Museum on 12/8. It was neat because they displayed many planes that look like the planes in the movie Disney Planes.
Grandma, Grandpa, Nathan and I went to see the movie Frozen at the movies on 12/10. Nathan was not enjoying it too much in the beginning. He kept waiting for the snowman to appear. He also got scared in some parts. But, he said it ended well, he liked it and he wants me to buy it when it comes out on DVD.
I took my parents to Butterfly Wonderland on 12/12. I was excited to see their Winter Wonderland display featuring white butterflies, but there were not as many as I had expected. They said they had some unforeseen circumstances so they are gradually increasing the white population. We got to eat at Portillos for lunch! Paul went to the doctor and had his blood tested. His A1C was 9.1 compared to 7.8 the previous visit. His doctor suggested insulin or seeing a pancreatic specialist. He said he did not like either option so he first wants to work on his diet and exercise and see if that makes a difference. It is hard with the holidays, but he has started doing the bike now. We hope to get an elliptical machine next year because we will get a $200 allowance for exercise equipment from Aetna. I am worried about him, though, so I hope that he can get his blood sugar under control.
The Alvirs invited us over on 12/14 to celebrate Christmas and Nathan's birthday. We gave Nathan his monster truck birthday cake and some of his gifts.
Nathan turned 4 on 12/15! We went to church and then he requested to go to Hot Rods for his birthday. We measured Nathan for his 4th birthday and he is almost 42" tall. I also asked him a series of questions that I intend to put in a scrapbook:
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Toy: Cars
Favorite Food: Goldfish
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast: Oatmeal
Favorite thing to eat for lunch: PB&J Sandwiches, Cucumbers and Carrots
Favorite Snack: Scooby Doo or Lightning McQueen Fruit Snacks
Favorite Cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios
Favorite Fruit: Peaches and Apples
Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk
Food you do not like: Lettuce
Favorite Movie: Disney Planes
Favorite thing to wear: Disney Cars and Disney Planes Shirts
Favorite Animal: Mountain Lion
Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Favorite Book: Disney Planes Wings Around the Globe (sound book)
Best Friend: Jade
Favorite Place to go: Children's Museum and Hot Rods Restaurant
Favorite Holiday: Easter
What do you like to take to bed with you at night: All of the toys I can grab!
What do you want to be when you grow up: Race Car Driver
Favorite thing to do at school: Playing with Toys
What is something you are good at: Naming Cars
Grandma and Grandpa left to go back to Chicago on 12/16.
Nathan had a rough day at school last Friday and this past Monday. He also had troubles at Sunday School on his birthday and they said that was unusual. Hopefully, now that his birthday is over and Grandma and Grandpa are gone he will start behaving better. He has also been doing his speech evaluation the last week or so. We will find out the results of that in January.
We have a few large expenses coming up, including new A/C/Furnaces, a new car and new furniture for Nathan's room not to mention other things like a new kitchen table. I am a little worried about our finances next year so I hope Paul gets a good bonus again and that we get a good tax return.
Christmas is almost here and I am not prepared at all. I have to wrap Nathan's presents. Our tree still does not have ornaments and all of our totes are sitting in our living room and family room. I wanted to buy a few more gifts, but I think I have run out of time. Still working on a few Christmas cards, too. I am just so behind this year. In a way it will be a relief when the holidays are over and things slow down a bit so I can catch up. Things have been crazy since we did all of that traveling in October.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
The holidays are here!
So Nathan decided that he wanted to go trick or treating this year. Last year he was too scared. So we took him around to a few houses and then he helped us hand out candy at home.
On November 1, I took Nathan to see the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile that was in town.
On November 2, I went to a photo safari at Reid Park Zoo. I have been disappointed with the last few I have been to because they just aren't as good as they used to be. Plus, we are seeing some of the same animals over and over again so it is getting a little boring. Not sure if I will do any more in the future. I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies after the zoo. I am also disappointed with it so far this year. There just does not seem to be as many butterflies as there used to be in prior years. However, they have added dart frogs which is a nice addition. While I went to the zoo and the gardens, Paul and Nathan went to a car show, Cops and Rodders.
November 8th we saw an owl on the roof of our neighbor's house. I love seeing these animals in the wild. Just like I like to hear the coyotes howling when we open our windows at night this time of year.
November 9th was Tulla's 7th birthday! Paul and Nathan took her to PetsMart to get the spa treatment: nails trimmed, ears cleaned and teeth brushed. They also took Bella to Banfield to get her nails trimmed, too.
November 10th we went to Phoenix for the NASCAR race. Nathan wanted the Danica Patrick car so we bought him one of those. He wanted her to win that day. Kevin Harvick #29 won again. He had won the race we went to last year in Phoenix. Earlier this year, we were there to see Carl Edwards #99 win. This time he was winning, but he ran out of gas near the end of the race!
Yesterday, 11/12, I took Nathan to the movies. This is the second time he has been to the movie theatre. We went to see Planes the first time and he loved it. This time we went to see Free Birds and he did not like it. He kept telling me that he wanted to go home and that he was tired. I made him stay until the end, but I admit it was not the greatest movie. Planes was much better and more up his alley. I tried!
I found out that I won honorable mention in the Jones Photo red competition for my picture of a red cactus flower with a small butterfly in the middle.
On November 1, I took Nathan to see the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile that was in town.
On November 2, I went to a photo safari at Reid Park Zoo. I have been disappointed with the last few I have been to because they just aren't as good as they used to be. Plus, we are seeing some of the same animals over and over again so it is getting a little boring. Not sure if I will do any more in the future. I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies after the zoo. I am also disappointed with it so far this year. There just does not seem to be as many butterflies as there used to be in prior years. However, they have added dart frogs which is a nice addition. While I went to the zoo and the gardens, Paul and Nathan went to a car show, Cops and Rodders.
November 8th we saw an owl on the roof of our neighbor's house. I love seeing these animals in the wild. Just like I like to hear the coyotes howling when we open our windows at night this time of year.
November 9th was Tulla's 7th birthday! Paul and Nathan took her to PetsMart to get the spa treatment: nails trimmed, ears cleaned and teeth brushed. They also took Bella to Banfield to get her nails trimmed, too.
November 10th we went to Phoenix for the NASCAR race. Nathan wanted the Danica Patrick car so we bought him one of those. He wanted her to win that day. Kevin Harvick #29 won again. He had won the race we went to last year in Phoenix. Earlier this year, we were there to see Carl Edwards #99 win. This time he was winning, but he ran out of gas near the end of the race!
Yesterday, 11/12, I took Nathan to the movies. This is the second time he has been to the movie theatre. We went to see Planes the first time and he loved it. This time we went to see Free Birds and he did not like it. He kept telling me that he wanted to go home and that he was tired. I made him stay until the end, but I admit it was not the greatest movie. Planes was much better and more up his alley. I tried!
I found out that I won honorable mention in the Jones Photo red competition for my picture of a red cactus flower with a small butterfly in the middle.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Out of Town in October
Nathan was good at school on 9/30.
We spent the month of October traveling.
Paul flew to Chicago on October 1st after we found out that his mom was in ICU. I went to the Botanical Gardens on 10/2 to see the opening of the Butterfly Magic. Paul came back 10/3 so that we could go to Albuquerque for the weekend. We had already planned and paid for the trip to see the Balloon Fiesta. The last day we were there we found that there was nothing more they could do for Paul's mom. She passed away the next morning, 10/7. We decided to drive to Chicago so that we could take some things back in the car from Pat's house.
On 10/9, we headed for Chicago. We stopped in Roswell, NM on our way. That night we stayed in Amarillo, TX.
10/10 we drove through Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and finally arrived in Illinois at like 2 in the morning on 10/11.
On 10/11, Nathan and I went to Morton Arboretum with Grandpa Fred. Not a lot of Fall colors to see, but it was still nice.
On 10/12, Paul, Nathan and I went to Kankakee State Park before he went to help at his mom's house again.
On 10/13, Nathan and I went to Stir Crazy with Grandma and Grandpa and my friend Debbie Madl joined us. Afterward, we took Nathan to Ty Warner Park in Westmont. Nathan and I stopped over by 159th and Pulaski to take pictures with the Sheriff from Cars before heading back to GG's.
On 10/16, we went to Brookfield Zoo. We practically had the place to ourselves which was great. I got to see the new snow leopard cub. Then we met the Carsons at Ledo's Pizza for dinner.
On 10/17, we started driving back toward Tucson. We stopped at the world's largest truck stop in Iowa. We drove through Nebraska and finally made it to Dodge City, KS after being in the car for like 15 hours. We stayed there for the night.
On 10/18, we spent the snowy morning in Dodge City and then drove to Manitou Springs, CO. We stayed there for the night.
On 10/19, we took the Cog Railway at Pike's Peak and then went to the visitor center at Garden of the gods before heading out of town. The views at that visitor center are amazing. We drove to Santa Fe, NM and stayed there for the night.
On 10/20, we toured the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe and saw the miraculous staircase. We shopped in the Plaza (where Paul bought me a nice pair of earrings as a late Sweetest Day gift) and ate lunch before heading back to Tucson.
Nathan was very well behaved during our trip to Chicago. I hate that he missed so many school days, but he got green cards during our trip!
Nathan was able to go to school on 10/21 and 10/23. He was good both days and was even green all day on the 23rd!
On 10/22, Nathan spelled his first word...all on his own. He was playing with his bath letters and then showed me that he had speed Read. I was very impressed. He had the letters backwards (daer), but he said it correctly.
As we were getting ready to leave for Sedona on 10/24, I got in Paul's car (2002 Grand Am) to take the dogs to Creature Comforts. His clock was reading 12:00. We restarted it a couple of times that morning and the same thing happened, but it was starting just fine. We got the dogs dropped off and headed to Sedona in our other car (2007 Grand Prix). We arrived in Sedona and ate at the Open Range for lunch. We got to our lodge, Slide Rock Lodge, and explored a bit around there. We were disappointed with the lodge itself, especially considering how much we paid to stay there. We had a fireplace, but there was no bath tub and not even a clock. We walked a little bit by the creek before going to dinner that night.
The next morning we ate at the Coffee Pot Restaurant and I took a couple pictures of Coffee Pot Rock. Then we went hiking at Slide Rock Park. We had never been to Slide Rock Park before and it was just beautiful. After Slide Rock Park we started driving north through Oak Creek Canyon and stopped to hike at Call of the Canyon West Fork. We continued driving north through Oak Creek Canyon and decided to go up to Flagstaff for dinner. We ate at Olive Garden.
On 10/26, We went to hike at Cathedral Rock. We explored an area that we had not seen before and it had even better views of Cathedral Rock. Then Paul was nice enough to walk through the water to get more pictures for me. After hiking at Cathedral Rock we went hiking at Boynton Canyon Trail. That is another area we had never explored before. We climbed to the top of the vista and had great views from there. After that hike, Paul and Nathan napped in the car while I hiked by Bell Rock. A lot of hiking for me that day! The hike just to get close to Bell Rock took forever. I got pretty close and that is where you start hiking up Bell Rock. I decided not to do that and turn around since it took me like an hour just to get that far. That evening we went shopping at Tlaquepaque Marketplace. We went to a Christmas store and a toy store. Then we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant there.
We started heading home on 10/27 stopping in Winslow, AZ. We stood on the corner in Winslow, AZ! We drove through Salt River Canyon and ate dinner at Nonna Maria's in Oracle before going home. We tried starting up the Grand Am that evening and we had trouble getting it started.
On 10/28 we ended up buying a new alternator for the Grand Am. We think that solved our problem (we had to replace like 3 batteries in the last year and then the clock kept resetting itself over the weekend). Nathan started the day with a red card at school, but he was able to turn it back to green!
Nathan got a green card at school on 10/30!
Today is Halloween. Nathan is going to be the #18 M&M race car driver Kyle Busch!
We spent the month of October traveling.
Paul flew to Chicago on October 1st after we found out that his mom was in ICU. I went to the Botanical Gardens on 10/2 to see the opening of the Butterfly Magic. Paul came back 10/3 so that we could go to Albuquerque for the weekend. We had already planned and paid for the trip to see the Balloon Fiesta. The last day we were there we found that there was nothing more they could do for Paul's mom. She passed away the next morning, 10/7. We decided to drive to Chicago so that we could take some things back in the car from Pat's house.
On 10/9, we headed for Chicago. We stopped in Roswell, NM on our way. That night we stayed in Amarillo, TX.
10/10 we drove through Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and finally arrived in Illinois at like 2 in the morning on 10/11.
On 10/11, Nathan and I went to Morton Arboretum with Grandpa Fred. Not a lot of Fall colors to see, but it was still nice.
On 10/12, Paul, Nathan and I went to Kankakee State Park before he went to help at his mom's house again.
On 10/13, Nathan and I went to Stir Crazy with Grandma and Grandpa and my friend Debbie Madl joined us. Afterward, we took Nathan to Ty Warner Park in Westmont. Nathan and I stopped over by 159th and Pulaski to take pictures with the Sheriff from Cars before heading back to GG's.
On 10/16, we went to Brookfield Zoo. We practically had the place to ourselves which was great. I got to see the new snow leopard cub. Then we met the Carsons at Ledo's Pizza for dinner.
On 10/17, we started driving back toward Tucson. We stopped at the world's largest truck stop in Iowa. We drove through Nebraska and finally made it to Dodge City, KS after being in the car for like 15 hours. We stayed there for the night.
On 10/18, we spent the snowy morning in Dodge City and then drove to Manitou Springs, CO. We stayed there for the night.
On 10/19, we took the Cog Railway at Pike's Peak and then went to the visitor center at Garden of the gods before heading out of town. The views at that visitor center are amazing. We drove to Santa Fe, NM and stayed there for the night.
On 10/20, we toured the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe and saw the miraculous staircase. We shopped in the Plaza (where Paul bought me a nice pair of earrings as a late Sweetest Day gift) and ate lunch before heading back to Tucson.
Nathan was very well behaved during our trip to Chicago. I hate that he missed so many school days, but he got green cards during our trip!
Nathan was able to go to school on 10/21 and 10/23. He was good both days and was even green all day on the 23rd!
On 10/22, Nathan spelled his first word...all on his own. He was playing with his bath letters and then showed me that he had speed Read. I was very impressed. He had the letters backwards (daer), but he said it correctly.
As we were getting ready to leave for Sedona on 10/24, I got in Paul's car (2002 Grand Am) to take the dogs to Creature Comforts. His clock was reading 12:00. We restarted it a couple of times that morning and the same thing happened, but it was starting just fine. We got the dogs dropped off and headed to Sedona in our other car (2007 Grand Prix). We arrived in Sedona and ate at the Open Range for lunch. We got to our lodge, Slide Rock Lodge, and explored a bit around there. We were disappointed with the lodge itself, especially considering how much we paid to stay there. We had a fireplace, but there was no bath tub and not even a clock. We walked a little bit by the creek before going to dinner that night.
The next morning we ate at the Coffee Pot Restaurant and I took a couple pictures of Coffee Pot Rock. Then we went hiking at Slide Rock Park. We had never been to Slide Rock Park before and it was just beautiful. After Slide Rock Park we started driving north through Oak Creek Canyon and stopped to hike at Call of the Canyon West Fork. We continued driving north through Oak Creek Canyon and decided to go up to Flagstaff for dinner. We ate at Olive Garden.
On 10/26, We went to hike at Cathedral Rock. We explored an area that we had not seen before and it had even better views of Cathedral Rock. Then Paul was nice enough to walk through the water to get more pictures for me. After hiking at Cathedral Rock we went hiking at Boynton Canyon Trail. That is another area we had never explored before. We climbed to the top of the vista and had great views from there. After that hike, Paul and Nathan napped in the car while I hiked by Bell Rock. A lot of hiking for me that day! The hike just to get close to Bell Rock took forever. I got pretty close and that is where you start hiking up Bell Rock. I decided not to do that and turn around since it took me like an hour just to get that far. That evening we went shopping at Tlaquepaque Marketplace. We went to a Christmas store and a toy store. Then we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant there.
We started heading home on 10/27 stopping in Winslow, AZ. We stood on the corner in Winslow, AZ! We drove through Salt River Canyon and ate dinner at Nonna Maria's in Oracle before going home. We tried starting up the Grand Am that evening and we had trouble getting it started.
On 10/28 we ended up buying a new alternator for the Grand Am. We think that solved our problem (we had to replace like 3 batteries in the last year and then the clock kept resetting itself over the weekend). Nathan started the day with a red card at school, but he was able to turn it back to green!
Nathan got a green card at school on 10/30!
Today is Halloween. Nathan is going to be the #18 M&M race car driver Kyle Busch!
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