Total Randomness Before the Storm

This post is a collection of recent moments. The Total Randomness part refers to the totally random collection that it is, the Before the Storm part refers to the storm of packing and stress that is descending quickly upon us.

We took a random trip-before-the-storm trip to Phoenix...we Pricelined a hotel (and then met a family in the hot tub that Pricelined it for cheaper than us...grrr). It was by the Light Rail, so we rode it a lot.

We swam in the pool a lot and put our kids in time out a lot.  I'm just sayin'.  It was fun and exhausting.

We ate at this restaurant until I experienced the Scariest Moment of My Parenting Career. It turned out okay but Sam and I are both still a little scarred.

We ate authentic Turkish Food on Mill Ave.

Annie loved the Baklava.

We watched an eclipse on our roof.

We went to a park at a resort at Oak Creek in Sedona. There was a large chess set.

Sam looks ridiculous, but look at the scenery behind him. If you are getting married soon, you should have your ceremony here.

I personally think this is an excellent place for a nap, too.

This is Evan's girl (space space space) friend, Wylie. I now see why my mom always made arrangements for me to be paired up with her friends' kids. This would be an excellent match.

But then there is THIS complication:

I hope it doesn't turn out like Legends of the Fall.

Jeremy went for a drive with our eccentric neighbor in THE most expensive car in Flagstaff.  Which is so out of place parked on the gravel in our weedy, bulk trash-y, semi-ghetto neighborhood.  Then our neighbor tested out some brain wave therapy on Jeremy.  I watched Jeremy like a hawk afterward to see if the electric waves had changed his personality, but he seemed the same. 

We like to have to go in the sheds at Home Depot.

We like to pretend that they are our houses.

But we don't like it if the particular batch of dog food at the neighboring Purina factory smells too strong.

We've been making popsicles with water.  We call them icicles.  They are cheap and clean.  We make them often.

 

Evan ended his season as an Ironbird T-ball player. He loved being pitcher (even though there is no pitching involved). 

 

Annie ended her season as a restless, often crying spectator. 

 

All the kids got trophies at a pizza party afterward, which I guess is okay but kind of reminds me of the line in The Incredibles: "If everyone is special, then nobody is special."

But what was really special was the certificate that Sam made for Evan and carefully carried to Evan's last game:

"T-Ball end of the season award.  This reward is presented to Evan lundgran senior player.  Little Leaque T-ball Iron Birds, Evan Lundgren. (on the ribbon) You got a gold medal!"

We take playing in the backyard pool very seriously.

Sam had his best friends from school, the Fantastic Four, over one last time.  I bought trash can lids at a thrift store for a dollar each and they painted them to look like shields.  Sam hasn't put his down much since we made them.  Best craft ever.

This is how Annie eats an otter pop.

This is how Annie eats a donut. All the frosting off the top first, with a wooden "sword" (Starbucks coffee stirrer) in the other hand.

This is how I keep Annie happy at a restaurant...taking pictures of her making silly faces.

This is Annie's hairstyle called "The Fancy Nancy".

We went downtown for kids activities at the square. Me and all the granola moms were there. Maybe I'm more granola than I think, but I do wear proper undergarments.

We found a park with some friends that has forts built in the woods nearby.  We liked that A LOT!

We watched a movie in a nest with all the dolls included.

This is how we go out around town for no reason except that it's fun.

Gamma and Pa J visited from Tucson. Gamma had gotten sick and had Bells Palsy (which causes temporary paralyzation in the face) and Annie was taking care of her so sweetly. Here they are playing "the kid and the mom."

But Gamma was still able to have as much fun as always...eating picnics in the front yard...

...making cake pops...

...building a Kinex track (I think it took Pa J seven hours to build with minimal help from the kids...good job, Pa J!)

...flying plastic bag kites in the yard

And the last of the randomness is Annie sitting on a rock in the garden.