New Lunch Boxes And Water Bottle Covers...

With a new school year set to begin next week, I had to get going on some new lunch boxes and water bottle covers.  I have opted to make the kids lunch boxes because it's way too expensive to buy them all new ones each year.  Water bottle covers are a must because my kids love to pack their bottles with tons of ice which makes the bottle sweat water all over their desks.  The covers are made with a cotton exterior but waterproof interior, containing the sweat coming off the water bottle.

More Visitors...

The Wilhelm Family stopped in for a quick visit.  Crystal and Shawn are old high school friends.  Shawn is now in the Navy and their family was traveling from Florida (where they were previously stationed) to Northern California to report for new orders.  We coordinated them stopping in for a quick overnight visit.  It was so fun to catch up after all these years.  Their son is Ava's age and played wonderfully with many of the middle aged kids while their 4 year old son Ezra hung out with his partner in crime, Maia!  You see, Facebook has been a fun way to keep tabs on each other's lives.  Especially, when we both were posting from early on about our 4 year old trouble makers.  We had bets on who would be worse and get into the most trouble.  I'll admit, Crystal has her hands full with Ezra but she will admit to you all that I have my hands full with Maia as well!

First Day Of Junior High...

Dillon is off to middle school.  Hopefully, he has a fantastic day.  Not wanting to embarrass the kid, I agreed to his request for me to drop him off a little ways from his bus stop!

Daddy/Maia Naps...

True Friendships Includes...

Being a great sport and painting my daughters' nails while I prepare dinner!  Thanks Morgan for wanting to spend time with my girls while visiting us!

The Fractured Prune Doughtnuts...

Our afternoon snack for the day...

Kristen and Lexi Visit...

Hanging out, exploring the Idea Museum, fun in the sun at Sunsplash waterpark, a night out to see Rascal Flatts in concert, and a shopping trip to hunt down a killer deal on fruit rolls.  It was a very busy 5 days with Kristen and Lexi.  We had a blast and hope to make a trip soon to visit them!  

A Day Trip To See The Slater Family...

The Slater Family used to live in Chandler.  Then they moved away (they are an air force family!).  Then we moved away.  Then we moved back and they were still in Tucson (2 hours from the valley). Then we moved to Prescott, making us over 4 hours away.  They were so sweet and visited us while in Prescott.  It reminded me that we had, yet, to visit them.  We made plans to go down last year but they had something come up preventing them from getting together with us.  So we planned the trip for another day.  That day finally came!  I loaded up the kids, drove down, and spent the day catching up and letting the kids play.  They took us to a community pool area, fed us lunch (so sweet), and played for hours with each other.  When it was time to leave, no one wanted to!  We are hoping to make plans to go camping with them next month!

Dinner Helpers...

Mini Golf And Bowling...

Pogo Pass Fun

A pogo pass is something offered in our area for a very low price (we got ours for $39.98/person) and allows you so many visits to many local attractions.  Going to just a couple makes your money back and going to even more saves you plenty more!  Today, we enjoyed a free game of bowling and free game of mini golf which we get to enjoy on a weekly basis!  

A Dillon Only Vacation...

Dillon's friend Cole took him on a weekend staycation to the Desert Ridge Marriot.  They enjoyed lots of fun food, pool time, and gaming.  It was so incredibly nice of Cole's family to take Dillon along for a fulfilled weekend.  Clearly, Dillon had fun based on these pictures!

Camping Vacation From The Eyes And Phone of Marc...