Anniversary Trip

Our Sixth wedding anniversary was on January 6th and Matt managed to completely surprise me with an amazing night away.

Matt made me think all week that we would be driving to Chandler, having dinner and then staying the night at his parents house with the girls. So we took off for Chandler with the girls and as soon as we got there Matt told me that we wouldn't be staying. The girls would be but we were heading back out. Yay!!

We drove to "The Living Room" which is a cute little wine bar in Chandler. We sat outside and ate lunch with wine. It was wonderful and so relaxing. After lunch we got back in the car and started heading south. We drove, and drove, and drove some more. Two hours later we arrived at the Ranch House Inn at El Rancho Merlita. We were greeted by the inn-keeper who showed us to our suite where there was a huge cheese, cracker, and fruit platter, courtesy of my Mom and Mark. The suite had a fireplace, private patio, sauna, and jet bathtub.

We snacked, laid around and relaxed for a couple of hours before our dinner reservations. We had dinner out a place that was similar to Cork and Cleaver (here in Phoenix) and then headed back to the hotel for the evening. We lit a fire and snuggled for a bit and then called it a night.

The next morning we had breakfast and then walked around the grounds. It looked like a great place to take the girls (when they're quite a bit older) or with another few couples for a few days. There was a great campfire area, a grill, a game house, a bocce ball court, and a pool and hot tub. We wished we could stay even longer!

It was a quick overnight trip but it was so nice to have a night away with Matt and was so special to have such a big surprise. Here are some pictures from our weekend away.

Surprise Anniversary Trip

January Recap

I realized that we're a little bit behind on our updates so we're going to try and start doing a monthly recap with pictures and then big events and stuff will be individual posts. And...we'll see how long that lasts.

We started out the year by going out for dinner and a movie while Nana Dottie hung out with the girls. We had dinner at Arrivederci Ristorante and then went to see the new James Bond movie. It was a fun night out with just the two of us. We were home by 11:15 and watched the countdown to midnight. We rung in the new year and were in bed by 12:30. Such rock stars!!

As a New Year's resolution I finally checked out the CrossFit box that's a few miles away from the house and started going every week. The first week I went in on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It was a busy schedule for my first week but I really loved it. That same Saturday was our six-year anniversary and Matt surprised me with a night at a bed and breakfast in Tucson. We dropped the girls off with Grandma and Grandpa, ate lunch at a little wine bar and then drove to the bed and breakfast. It was such a beautiful place and was so relaxing. We were greeted by the inn-keeper and Oma and Opa sent us a huge cheese, cracker, and fruit platter. We went out to dinner that night in town and the next morning had breakfast and walked around the grounds. It was a quick overnight trip but it was so nice to have a night away with Matt and was so special to have such a big surprise.

In mid-January I took a Girls trip to Palm Springs with Kathleen Tucker and Kristen McGinley. We went to a street fair, did yoga, took a wind turbine tour, watched Meet Joe Black (it's like, an 8-hour movie...) saw the Fabulous Follies (men and women from 50-82 years old performing), and shopped at the outlets. It was so much fun to spend time with my girlfriends and catch up. Matt hung around the house with the girls, watched football, and got a new refrigerator that weekend. 

Also during the month we made a trip to the Children's Museum in downtown Phoenix with Grandpa Dave, made pizza, played dress up, did make-up with Mommy, Matt and Hayden went on a hike (Hayden's first ever), and wound down from the crazy holiday season!

January 2013

Dentist

A couple of months ago we took Hayden to the dentist for the first time (yes, we know we were behind on it) and she did really great. The pediatric dentist office we went to was so well-run and organized. It was a great experience for both Hayden and me.

The lobby had books and games (including iPads on the wall) and a huge spaceship and little slides. We kept ourselves well entertained until it was time to meet with the hygienist. When we went back the exam room we found another iPad mounted to the wall that was pre-loaded with kid apps. The hygienist was great with communicating to Hayden exactly what she was doing. There was a TV mounted to the ceiling with kid shows, she got to pick out what flavor of teeth cleaner she wanted, and she got to pick out the toothbrush she got to take home. We took a bunch of x-rays and then we got to see the dentist. The dentist was equally wonderful and after looking at Hayden's teeth explained how happy she was with how spaced out Hayden's teeth are. She said that the more space in between their teeth the better because it allows the bigger adult teeth to come in more easily.

At the end of the appointment they took a picture of the dentist and Hayden together (that they mailed to us later that week), she got a bag of treats, and four little "coins" for being such a big girl that she got to use to get a prize in the lobby.  At the very end she also got a balloon!  Whew!!

Her dentist experience was much different than mine was as a kid. She really loved it and has already asked when she'll get to go back!  Success!!  (Big shout-out to Matt for researching online and finding a great dentist for our girls).

Are we at the dentist - or on the moon?!?

Playing with the iPad in the waiting room

The dentist "counting" her teeth.

The dentist is SO relaxing...

Hayden's Spring Show

Hayden's school, Rancho Solano, had their Spring Show where all the classes and the after school programs performed. Hayden had 2 performances: Yellow Submarine with her PK-4 class, and the Pink Panther with her dance class.

She had played soccer earlier in the day so she performed in 3 costumes/uniforms in a matter of hours. We were worried that her bashfulness would cause her to get a little nervous and not get on stage. But then her class came out and there she was. No tears and she looked confident! And she looked super cute in her Pink Panther costume. Here is the performance:



Then she got to quickly throw down some lunch with us and immediately report to her classroom for her next performance.



She did really well in both performances and we were so proud of her. Plus she scored a goal in her soccer game that morning so it was a terrific day!

We were also really excited that both Pop as well as Grandma and Grandpa were able to be there to see her do all this. Here are some photos of the day:

Hayden's Spring Show

Ellie's First Hike

It has been beautiful lately so we decided to go on a hike. Actually Hayden and I wanted to go, and Savannah and Ellie were to stay home. Savannah has always said that she hates hiking and does not have any interest in going. Yet the beauty of the day was too tough to pass up so with a bit of pushing and prodding, she begrudgingly agreed to do it, along with Ellie who was excited.

We went to Pinnacle Peak in north Scottsdale. There were a lot of people there even though we got there fairly early. We sunscreened the girls and headed up. Ellie walked about 43 feet. Then she wanted up so Savannah carried her. And carried her. And carried her.

Up a mountain.

It was super impressive. The girls loved it and we stopped every so often to take in the gorgeous views of the area. There are also a ton of boulders on Pinnacle Peak which made for some interesting spots on the trail.

Then Ellie decided she wanted to walk again, and she made it 53 feet this time before falling and skinning her knee. Poor little tyke. So we headed down.

All in all it was a fun day and a great way to get out of the house and get some fresh air.

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