It is Spring!

I am amazed how quickly time flies by.  I have not updated our blog since before Christmas.  We had a nice Christmas.

Nathan made honor roll the first semester!  I am so proud of him.

On New Year's Eve we stayed home.  I was the only one who stayed up until midnight!

I turned 41 on 1/2.  We went to Phoenix .  I went to Butterfly Wonderland while the boys went to the train park.  Then we went to Portillo's for lunch.  Next, we all went to Wildlife World Zoo.  On the way home we stopped at Olive Garden in Casa Grande for my birthday dinner.  We also got some donuts at Krispy Kremes.

Nathan had his 6 year old pediatrician appointment on 1/4.  He weighs 47 lbs which is in the 60th percentile and he is 46 inches tall which is in the 50-55th percentile.

I started my diet and exercise plan on 1/5.  My goal is to lose 40 pounds.  I started doing the elliptical every day.

One of my pictures was published in Arizona Wildlife Views.  It is a picture of baby prairie dogs taken at the Desert Museum.  I was paid $100!

I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens on 1/21,  There was not a lot blooming, but they had an abundance of orchids in the butterfly house.

Paul went to Chicago for work 1/19-1/22.

I went to the Desert Museum on 1/28.

2/2 was Groundhog Day or as Nathan likes to call it, Ground Squirrel Day!  Phil predicted an early spring.  It was a cold, rainy winter so I was looking forward to warmer weather and to spring flowers.  That day I also found out that one of my butterfly pictures taken at Tucson Botanical Gardens was chosen as an Arizona Highways Magazine photo contest finalist.  40 photos were chosen as finalists.

My photo of a steller jay taken at the Desert Museum was chosen as photo of the day on Capture my Arizona on 2/5.

We found out some disturbing news about Nathan's school.  Sue Lamberson, a friend of ours from church, forwarded us an article.  It seems that Nathan's school is one of many STEM schools in our country run under the Muslim influence.  We did our own research and it appears to be true, even though I think most parents there are unaware.  They supposedly offer a lot of visas to Turkish teachers to teach at these schools.  While they do not push the Muslim beliefs during normal school time, they do have a Turkish Club and Turkish is a required foreign language.  We really did not want to take the chance that they could be influencing our son's religious beliefs.  So we started researching schools.  I was drawn to Leman Academy, a new school that opened here in Marana this year.  It is a free charter school, but it has a Christian influence.  It is getting great reviews.  Nathan's teacher from Kid City Christian Preschool last year is now a teacher at Leman, Mrs. Robbins.  We took a tour on 2/8.  We were pretty impressed so we ended up enrolling him that day for next year.  He has already been accepted so it looks like he will be going to Lehman next year.  I like that it is closer than Sonoran Science Academy.  I was never really keen on Sonoran in the first place.  Paul was the one who pushed for it since it is a STEM school and rates so high in Arizona.  We were not impressed when we went to their open house, though, and they seem so disorganized.  I do have to say that Nathan has really excelled there.  The curriculum has been very challenging and yet he has done so well.  I feel bad making him change schools again, but we explained to him why we are doing so.  He understands as much as a six year old can.  I hope this is a good move and that he does well at Leman, too.  Right now the school goes up to 6th grade with plans to go to 7th grade next year.  I think ultimately they want to go to 12th grade, but we are not sure if they can make that happen or not.

On 2/11, I went to Tohono Chul Park.  There was not much in bloom yet, other than some desert bluebells.  That day was also Bella's 8th birthday!

On Valentine's Day I was sick with a sinus infection.  It started earlier in the week.  Nathan made me the sweetest Valentine's Day card.  He told me that he loved me and that he wanted me to get better.  He and daddy had gone to the Tucson gem and mineral show so they bought me a stone butterfly and a jewelry holder from there for Valentine's Day.

2/16 I found out that my mom went to the hospital with a kidney stone.  They ended up doing a procedure on her that night to remove it.  She was able to go home that night, but she had to return in a couple of days to get a stent removed.  I also found out that day that my Grandma Ariel was sent to the hospital.  A couple of days prior she was at Bingo and could not walk when she stood up.  They got her home, but the next day she fell in the bathroom and hit her head.  Come to find out she has stomach and colon cancer as well as an ulcer in her chest that may be cancerous.  It is not good at all.  She is still in the hospital getting tests done.  They need to determine how far along the cancer is and what they can do for her, if anything.  That night I also decided to go to urgent care.  They confirmed I have a sinus infection and they gave me an antibiotic.  Since the sinus infection started I was not feeling well enough to do my elliptical.  I also lost my taste buds so I was not eating as much.  I lost almost 5 pounds in one week.  I expect I may have lost more this past week.  I weigh myself now on Saturday mornings.  I am glad to be losing weight, but I am not happy about not being able to do the elliptical.  I was really trying to get in shape and get in a lot of steps on my Fitbit.

I was sick for our anniversary, too.  We did not do anything special since it was a school night and I was not feeling well.  Paul had ordered me Portillo's ribs.  They came that day, but he put them in the freezer until my taste comes back!  I ordered him Giordano's heart pizzas and they are supposed to arrive tomorrow.  Paul also bought me a ring at the Tucson gem and mineral show.  He was looking for "peach colored" gems.  The ring is a little small right now, but I told him not to get it sized yet because I still intend to lose more weight.  It may fit my ring finger if I lose the weight I want to lose.  He also bought another gem that we need to make into something.  It is pretty big so I am not sure what we are going to do with it just yet.

Nathan stayed home from school today because he was not feeling well and had a fever.  Last semester he had perfect attendance.  This semester we knew he was going to miss some days anyway because of our upcoming D.C. trip in April.  He seemed to do good today, but tonight he is not feeling well again.  It is looking like he may stay home tomorrow, too.

I sure hope all of us are feeling better next week because next Wednesday we leave to go to Disneyland.  Nathan has Thursday and Friday off for rodeo days so we decided to take him to Disneyland.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We took Nathan to see Santa on 11/28.  Nathan asked Santa for a stuffed animal cat, stuffed animal dog, cars (land, water, RC), remote control airplane, freight cars, Scooby Doo legos, portable dvd player, tablet and coloring books.

Nathan had his school holiday recital on 11/30.

I went to the Desert Museum on 12/3 to see the raptor free flight show for the first time since it started back up on 10/1.

Paul and Nathan made a gingerbread train on 12/5.

On 12/6, we went to see the Tucson Botanical Gardens luminarias.  It was our first time going to this event.  Nathan liked seeing the Lego exhibits again and he got to see Santa again.

Nathan had his first field trip to the Ostrich Farm on 12/7.  He did not want me to go, but he said he enjoyed it.  I have never been there so I will have to check it out some time.  That day I went to Reid Park, the Reid Park Rose Garden, the zoo and Tohono Chul Park.

Nathan had his 6th birthday party on 12/12.  It was at Peter Piper Pizza and the theme was Tom & Jerry.  Jade, Jesse, Sachi, Alyssa, Samhita and Eli went to the party.

We went to Winterhaven on 12/13.

Nathan wanted to go to dinner at Grimaldi's Pizzeria for his birthday (12/15).

After Nathan got out of school on Friday, 12/18, we headed toward Sedona.  There was not as much snow there as I hoped and we did not have much time before it started to get dark.  From there we headed to Williams and stayed the night.  The next day we got up and went to Bearizona.  That afternoon it was time to surprise Nathan with the Polar Express ride.  For some reason he threw a fit and said he did not want to go on it.  That was not the response we expected!  He loved the Polar Express movie and we thought this is something he would really enjoy.  Our whole trip was planned around this surprise for him.  He enjoyed it once he was on the train.  The next day we headed for the Grand Canyon.  It was REALLY cold and overcast.  We stayed there overnight at the Bright Angel Lodge.  The next morning was a little warmer and a tad sunnier.  We walked and drove around the south rim before heading back to Tucson that night.

Almost Thanksgiving time

On November 1st we went up to Mt Lemmon to see if we could catch the last of the Fall colors. There was some.  We ate at the Cookie Cabin.  Dawn felt a little sick going up and down the mountain, probably because of the antibiotics she was on at the time.

Paul and Nathan went to the Cops n Rodders show on November 7th.  Then they went to Caleb's birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza.  Caleb is one of Nathan's classmates.

Tulla turned 9 on November 9th.  Her Golden Birthday!

Nathan had off school on Veteran's Day (November 11).  Nathan and I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens so that he could see the Lego Exhibits as well as the one he entered in their contest.  Then we went to the movies to see The Peanuts Movie.  That place was crowded!  But it was a really good movie.

We went to meet Kyle Busch at Hot Rods on November 12th.

We attempted to go to the NASCAR race in Phoenix on November 15th.  It started raining shortly after we got there.  There ended up being a long rain delay.  They raced later that night, but we left before the race started.  We needed to get back home because Paul had work the next day and Nathan had school.

Paul left for Hartford, CT the next day for work.  He was there 11/16-11/20.

Dawn went to the Reid Park Rose Garden on 11/18.

This week will be a short week.  Thanksgiving day we will be going to the Alvirs.

Fall is finally here!

I went to the opening of the butterfly exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens on 10/1.

I went to the Reid Park Zoo Safari on 10/3.  Nathan had fall break from 10/5-10/11.  We went to Sedona 10/8-10/11.  There was a little bit of Fall color, but not much.  So then we decided to go up to Flagstaff.  We went to Lockett Meadow for the first time and the aspens were bursting with color.  It was a beautiful hike and the weather was perfect.

Shortly after returning from our trip to Sedona/Flagstaff I got a rash on my upper leg.  It then spread to my arm and other parts of my body.  I went to CVS Minute Clinic and they thought it was a yeast/fungal infection.  The cream they gave me did not work.  So then I went to the dermatologist and they determined that it is a bacterial infection.  The rash is much better, but as I am writing this now it is still not gone.

We had a teacher-parent conference on 10/14.  It went pretty well.  She said she considers him one of the good kids and academically he is doing great.

We went to the U of A red blue basketball game on 10/17.

Paul went to Chicago for work 10/19-10/21.

I went to Reid Park Zoo on 10/20 to see the new baby tapir and the baby flamingo.  Then I went to the Reid Park Rose Garden afterward.

Nathan went to a costume party at school the night of 10/23.

We decided to go to a pumpkin farm closer to home than Apple Annie's.  We tried out the Marana Pumpkin Farm on 10/24.  It was on the warmer side (one of the perks of Apple Annie's is that it is cooler).  There were also too many people for my liking.  We had a good time, but I prefer Apple Annie's.  That night we went to Phoenix to see Garth Brooks.  It was a great concert.  Nathan even enjoyed it until he fell asleep.

I went to Reid Park Zoo on 10/31 to see them feed pumpkins to the animals.  I went to the Reid Park Rose Garden afterward.  Nathan was Scooby Doo for Halloween.  We went trick or treating and then we went back home and handed out candy.  Nathan was excited when a trick or treater came and was also dressed as Scooby Doo.  She looked like she was in high school, but she was excited that her and Nathan were dressed alike.  I also dressed up Tulla like Scooby Doo.  Bella was a lion.

It's been a long time...

I just realized how long it has been since I last updated my blog...like 3 months.

Paul and Nathan went to Chicago from 7/16/15-7/25/15.  I decided to stay home to save us money on airfare and dog boarding.  We intended not to go to Chicago this year so that we could focus on home projects, but I decided that Nathan should go see his family, especially grandma GG.  I also really wanted some time alone to get things done at home without interruption.  While in town, they also went to Paw Paw, MI with aunt Lisa.  I was pretty busy at home.  The one fun thing I did was go to the zoo on 7/20.

Nathan started Kindergarten at Sonoran Science Academy on 8/3.  He has computer class on Mondays and Fridays, PE on Tuesdays and Thursdays and music class on Wednesdays. He is in a Lego Club that meets every Monday after school.  We were not very impressed with the school in the beginning because it seemed like the administration was not prepared for school to start.  It has been an adjustment for Nathan.  He had a few behavioral issues the first couple of weeks.  Then he did great for about 3 weeks.  Two weeks ago he got -5 behavior points.  This past week was even tougher.  Daddy was out of town for work.  Nathan got -7 behavior points on Monday for hitting another student.  He claims he was playing tag, but those who witnessed said otherwise.  He promised me that he would not hit his classmates again, but he did it again the next day.  He was sent to the principal's office and got another -5 behavior points.  He also lied to me and told me that he was good at school so we had to have a talk about lying.  Fortunately, the rest of the week was better. Friday he had a half day.  He did earn a free dress day for having enough positive behavior points for the month of August.  Kindergarten won the Box Top contest, thanks largely to us!  Nathan also has won a future lunch with the principal for selling 15 fundraiser coupon books.  

I went to the Reid Park Rose Garden and Tucson Botanical Gardens on 8/5.

We went to Peach Mania at Apple Annie's in Willcox on 8/8.  We love going there.  We had the peach pancake breakfast.  Later we had peach ice cream and roasted corn.  I bought salsa, fudge, vidalia onion dressing, cheese curds, fresh veggies, etc...  Of course we picked a ton of peaches....we have had many peach shakes since!

I went to Tohono Chul Park pretty much every day from 8/12-8/20 trying to see the starfish cactus.  I saw a bud getting ready to open the first day I went and I was told that it would probably open in a couple of days.  It did not open until a week later!  There were actually 2 open when I went on the 20th, but one was in the back where I really could not get to.  I saw a snake that day, too, so I had to be careful.  It was the first time I saw a starfish cactus in person so I thought it was pretty cool.

I went to the Desert Museum on 8/19.  I got some good pictures of the bighorn sheep.  However, my camera had been having trouble focusing so I finally decided to take it in to get it looked at the next day.  A few weeks later I finally got it back....after spending about $500 to fix it.

We went to Funtasticks on 8/23.  We did bumper boats, miniature golf and go karting.  That was the first time I went go karting and it was really fun.  I won miniature golf because Paul said whoever got a hole in one wins...and that was me!  We went to Cheesecake Factory afterward for lunch.

I went to the Reid Park Rose Garden and Tucson Botanical Gardens on 9/4.

We decided to go up to Phoenix on 9/6.  We went to eat lunch at Maggianos.  It was a great meal...I had chicken piccata.  I went to Butterfly Wonderland while the boys went to the train park.  They also went to the mall and Nathan got a new dog at Buildabear which he named Fluffy.  We went to  Portillos for an early dinner, but we were all too stuffed from lunch to eat.  We just got smoothies there.  Then we went to the Glendale Drive-In.  We had a couple of hours to kill until they opened so we really did not know what to do with ourselves.  Finally we got in and we watched the movie Inside Out.  Nathan and I had seen it at the movie theater, but Paul had not seen it.  It was Nathan's first time at a Drive-In and I think for me as well.  The only issue we had was that we wanted to sit on the ground on a blanket.  You are supposed to get the sound for the movie from your car radio, though.  We don't have a truck or SUV which made that difficult.  We were just listening to the sound from everyone else's vehicles.  Unfortunately, the people next to us decided to keep their car running which drowned out the sound of the movie so it was difficult to hear.

9/9 was National Teddy Bear day.  I got some pictures of Nathan with a couple of his teddy bears and his new Buildabear dog.

I went to see the Lego exhibits at the Tucson Botanical Gardens on 9/14.  We decided to let Nathan enter their Lego contest.  His age group is K-5th grade which makes it a little tough on him.  He built a saguaro with the mountains and sky in the background.

Paul turned 45 on 9/20.  I made him a cake.  We went to church.  He could not decide where to eat for lunch.  We finally ended up at El Charro Cafe downtown.  We were disappointed in our meal, though.

Paul went to Hartford, CT for work 9/21-9/25.  I really do not like when he travels for work because then I have to take care of Nathan by myself.  Nathan had rough days at school the first couple of days, too.

Yesterday, 9/26, Paul and Nathan went to the U of A football game vs UCLA.  I was supposed to go with, but I was not feeling up to it.  I did not miss much because they lost 30-56.

This next week will be the last week of the quarter for Nathan and then he has Fall break.  Even though he has had behavioral issues, he has been doing well academically.  It is a tough curriculum, too.  He has been learning to count, but he can already count past 100.  They are adding and subtracting.  They are learning their phonograms.  We do a lot of computer work at home for IReady that concentrates on reading and math.  Nathan loves doing it because they make it fun like a game. Nathan is learning how to write and read.  Supposedly he is one of the strongest readers in the class according to what he has told me. We have been working with him at home and he is finally getting it.  Now that he knows he can do it if he sounds out the words, he enjoys it.  He especially does well with the BOB books that Ms. Monica from his old school recommended.    

Summer Heat

Summer is in full swing and it has been hot!

I went to the Desert Museum and Arthur Pack Park on 5/20.

We celebrated Memorial Day by going to our church picnic at Fort Lowell Park on 5/25.  We brought a cake which seemed to go over well.

I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens on 5/29.

I went to Christopher Columbus Park and Sweetwater Wetlands on 6/8.

On 6/12, I went to Lakeside Park in search of a Tern which I never found.  Then I went to Reid Park and the Reid Park Rose Garden.

On 6/13, we went to Phoenix so I could check out the burrowing owlets at Zanjero Park.  We got a little lost so we got there later than planned.  I did get to see them, though, so it was a good experience.  It was too hot to stay that long, though.  Afterward, I went to Butterfly Wonderland while the boys went to the train park.

We took a last minute trip to San Diego from 6/19-6/23.  On 6/19 we started at the Coronado Dog Beach.  We had never been there so that is something I wanted to check out.  I wanted to stay and take pictures for awhile so we let Nathan play in the sand there.  We ended up getting sunburned that day because the sunscreen we used did not seem to work.  We ate dinner at our pizza place there on the island.  Then we went to our hotel in Encinitas (Best Western).  We were disappointed with our hotel because it did not give us the ocean views we were hoping for.  We went to Encinitas Beach to watch the sunset that night.

The next day we went to La Jolla Children's Beach to see the sea lions.  Not many of them were out where we normally view them, but I was able to see them at a different place.  They are still working on the pedestrian viewing area there and it will be open later this year.  After that the boys dropped me off at the San Diego Botanical Gardens and they went to Legoland.  The only reason I did not go with them is because it is so expensive and I have been there before.  That night we ate dinner at Ruby's on Oceanside Pier.

On Father's Day, we went to Old Point Loma Lighthouse and then we ate lunch/dinner at Seaport Village.

On 6/22, I went to the San Diego Zoo and the boys went to Coronado Island to play at the beach.  I enjoyed myself at the zoo, seeing a baby koala, baby orangutan and baby meerkats.  That night we ate dinner at the San Diego Hard Rock Cafe.

Our last day was on 6/23.  I walked around Balboa Park taking pictures of the flowers and the boys went to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.  Then we headed home :(

Nathan's last day of speech therapy with Mrs. Debi was on 6/29.  She is so nice and did great work with Nathan so it was sad to end.  I just hope the work she did with him is enough to carry him through so he does not have to take up speech therapy again when he is in Kindergarten at Sonoran Science Academy.  I also hope that we keep in touch with Mrs. Debi.  Nathan and I really like her.

Yesterday I surprised Nathan with a mommy and son day.  I took him to the movies to see Inside Out.  He said he liked it.  He was so sweet during the movie, snuggling with me, kissing me and telling me that he loved me.  I guess he was really happy to get out of the house because we have not done much lately, mainly because of the heat.  Afterward, we checked out the new Children's Museum in Oro Valley.  I was disappointed because it was in a strip mall and was pretty small.  It was also geared toward toddlers.  Nathan still had fun, though, and did not want to leave.  Then we went for a late lunch at Pita Jungle.

We also finally got Nathan's new bedroom furniture.  His room is currently Thomas the Train.  I am sure that won't last long because his interests are already shifting.  The room is mostly done, but we are still contemplating doing custom shelving to house his toys and books.  I also need to get some new window treatments and possibly a bedskirt.  Getting him to sleep in his room is still a challenge sometimes, especially because monsoon season has started.

Nathan is a preschool grad!

On 4/24/15, I went back to Tucson Botanical Gardens and Tohono Chul Park.  I ended up getting a membership at Tohono since I knew I would be going there several days in a row to see the cactus flowers that were getting ready to open.  That was the day to be there.  There were a lot of flowers open.  I returned there the next day and there were a lot open that day, too.  Then I went to the Desert Museum and DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun.

Nathan got all 5s at school on 5/4!  He even got a little certificate.

I went to DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun and Bach's Cactus Nursery on 5/6.  I also went to Arthur Pack Park and checked out some trails over there.  The saguaros were pretty since a lot of the flowers were opening.  There was also a jackrabbit.  It saw me before I saw him because he took off running before I could get a pic.  I guess they frequent that area from what I hear.

Nathan and I went to the zoo on 5/7.

We all went to the Desert Museum on 5/9 per my request for an early Mother's Day outing.  It was a pretty good visit.  We got to see Cruz, the new bear, the bighorn sheep lamb, the ocelot, baby prairie dogs, etc...  Not too many flowers blooming, though.  I think most bloomed kind of early this year.  Paul and Nathan gave me 36 roses for Mother's Day and Nathan made me a jewelry holder with a bracelet at school.

On Mother's Day we went to church.  Then we went to check out the Ventana Canyon waterfall.

Yesterday Nathan had another 5* day at school!  He also had his preschool graduation.