Daddy Snuggles Are The Best...

Rain Storm...

Sadly...

the above picture and statement is coming true for Rosalia.  Thankfully the gate that is in her bedroom doorway is keeping her in her room for at least a little bit for some down time even if she doesn't nap. 
I try to find humor is most situations and this picture does the trick when I think about the days to come when Rosalia no longer naps and figures out how to escape the gate!

Big Time Rush Concert...

*Insert LOUD pre teen SCREAMING*
Tonight I took Liliana to her first concert.  She had been waiting for this concert for months.  The tickets went on sale in January.  Liliana begged me pretty much every day since to buy them.  I kept telling her they were sold out but little did she know I bought them and would surprise her on her birthday (in May).  From May until tonight, she told me how excited she was for her favorite band Big Time Rush to perform.  She told me how she plans to dance, sing, and scream.  She told me if she got close enough to one of the band members she might faint.  Today she woke up, smiled at me and said "You know what day it is today right mom?!"  I replied with a "Um Tuesday".  She smiled even bigger and said "You're taking me to the concert tonight!!"  She went around the house telling her siblings how she couldn't wait for tonight.  She told anyone she came in contact with, that she was attending the concert this evening.  To say she was excited is a huge understatement!
We left the house at 5pm.  The concert was set to start at 7pm.  We were almost there when we hit traffic.  The panicked look on her face was priceless.  I knew we were almost there but she didn't.  She must have asked "how much longer I don't want to miss the concert" over a dozen times! Upon arrival we checked out our seats,  stood in line for what seemed to be forever to buy some souvenirs, and got a couple snacks.  The preshow included performances from Rachel Crow and Cody Simpson (sadly no relation to us!).  Rachel Crow was so cute.  She has a really great voice.  Just before singing her final song, she informed the audience that she would be signing autographs over at her tent just next to the area we were sitting in.  Liliana looked at me and said "Can I go get her autograph", I replied "Yes", and off Liliana ran to the line.  The line went really quickly.  Liliana got her autograph and still had minutes to spare before Cody Simpson even got on stage.  As he was finishing his last song, we noticed many people moving closer to the stage.  Basically the entire back middle section never sold which meant they were empty seats.  Liliana and I were able to move over 20 rows closer.  She sang, danced, screamed, and sang a ton more.  She was on cloud 9!  I was so happy to make her so happy!  Although my head pounded the entire evening, it was worth it!  On the way home, she begged me to find out when their next concert would be and asked who else is coming to perform in our area because she likes going to concerts. 

Oh boy and let the teen years begin...!

3 Months Old...

It's amazing how fast a baby grows, not just in height and weight but in personality and movement.  Maia is officially 3 months old.  She tries so hard to roll over.  She is almost there.  She needs to figure out how to keep her one arm down so that the roll can finish.  She grabs for items when put within arms reach.  She definitely recognizes faces from further distances and smiles even bigger than she did at 2 months old.  She is sleeping through the night most of the time.  Usually going to bed around 10pm and waking somewhere around 5 am but then will sleep until 7 or even 8am!  We had success giving her a pacifier and bottles of pumped breastmilk.  Thank goodness because Liliana's concert is only a couple more days away.  I don't know her height or weight but will update that after her 4 month check up. 

Legoland...

We decided since Marc took the entire week off work, that we would escape the awful summer heat Arizona offers and take the kids to Legoland located in Carlsbad, CA.  Carlsbad is about 6 hours away.  On a limited budget and with last minute planning, getting a hotel wasn't a realistic option for us.  So we made this a 24 hour trip. 
Yes we were nuts... 24 hours, 12 of those hours driving, and 6 children!
We didn't tell the children.  We woke them up at 3AM, loaded them in the car still in pajamas.  We hoped they would stay asleep or go right back asleep if they woke up.  The excitement and curiosity kept them up for a couple hours.  They all finally fell asleep for an hour or so before awaking to use the restrooms while we gassed up!  The last couple hours, there was on and off sleeping.  We hoped with the choppy amount of sleep they got, the excitement would carry them through the long but fun day we had planned.  As we pulled in, Garrison was the first to notice Legos.  The big kids quickly realized where we were once they saw the big sign!  They were chanting L-E-G-O-L-A-N-D!  For a few years the children had been asking to go to Legoland.  We have always steered away from it because of the mixed reviews.  I now understand the mixed reviews.  The kids had a blast but I was a little disappointed because, they didn't allow any of our younger 4 kids on majority of the rides without an ADULT.  This was a big hassle because Maia was not old enough to ride pretty much all the rides, meaning one of us had to stay with her while the rest were on rides.  If you do the math... Liliana rides by herself, Dillon most of the time rode by himself, but Ava, Garrison, and when height permitted Rosalia all wanted to ride but only one of them could ride with Marc at a time. 
Now if we were at Disneyland, we would have stuck Ava with Liliana, Garrison with Dillon, and Rosalia with Marc... leaving me with Maia and all kids accounted for riding a ride at the same time.  Instead we had to do a parent swap which meant...Liliana, Dillon, and kid 1 (Ava, Garrison OR Rosalia) rode with Marc.  When the ride was done, Liliana and Dillon had to stay with myself or Marc while one of us rode the ride 2 more times with the leftover children.  It ate up tons of time and made the older children impatient for the next ride since they were stuck standing for 2 more rounds of riding while the younger kids all got their turns!
They all had a blast, enjoying all the different lego themed rides, eating amongst glass cases of lego statues, exploring life size legos throughout the walkways, and exploring the sealife aquarium which was an added bonus we weren't planning on doing.

The biggest deal we got was free tickets to come back to Legoland anytime during the last two weeks of September and first week of October.  Score!

Reptile Roundup...

Today, our local library had what they call Reptile Roundup.  A local park ranger came and brought in a few different desert wildlife to show kids attending.  He had a large row of tables with tons of things on display.  After showing the kids several different live animals, they were allowed to line up and pet and touch some of them along with view the displays close up.  I love when the library has events like these.  They are free, perfect for all of the kids (which these days with an 11 yr age gap isn't always the easiest to accommodate), and the kids learned more about the wildlife that surrounds us here in Arizona!

Happy 4th Of July...

 

Take 1

Take 2... that's better!

Ava and Maia...

Pallets To Shoe Shelves...

With all the new build home sites surrounding us there is an endless amount of pallets being thrown out.  Marc had this idea to grab a few and attempt making different things with them.  It was a great idea except it's been so stinking hot and it's just going to get even hotter as we are now into July.  So there they sit, leaning up against the block wall in my side yard.  So today, I got the itch to build something myself!  I was in desperate need of something to hold all the "hand me down shoes" and extra shoes that don't have a home inside our house.  I was searching pinterest when I came across shelving someone had pinned.  (I know, I know another pinterest inspired idea... but at least I am turning them into real life items unlike some that have a fantasy life growing online!)

It only took a few hours to dissassemble enough pallet pieces for one shelf.  It only took about 10 minutes to cut all the pieces (yes I used the saw all by myself).  It took several hours and blisters to nail and screw all the pieces together.  With all that hard work, I was able to build 2 shelves.  It did take me 2 days to complete the work but I think they look pretty darn good considering they were made with pallet pieces! 
*Note: Marc did build one shelf as an example for me since he wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing!