A Weekend in Tucson

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law texted me letting me know that she would be in the Tucson area for an upcoming wedding, and I just knew we had to jump on the chance to see her.  I had never been to Tucson, and who am I to pass up a little road trip?  David was actually up in Portland for the weekend, and as much as my girls can be super independent, I really didn't want to do that road trip solo.  Enter:  Nana and Poppy!  All I had to do was plant a little seed in their heads, and BOOM, there we all were road trippin' down to Tucson.

When I told friends that we were going to Tucson, they were sort of like, "Ooohhhhh.  Well, have fun?"  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but now I sort of get it.  Aside from the cute little zoo that we LOVED, there's not a lot to go on and on about.  Okay, campus looked sort of cute too, but trying to eat dinner there on a game night with two little kids.  Nope.  So, maybe in a few years we can go down again and explore that.  

Anyway, back to the zoo.  Seriously so cute.  It was easy to walk around and there were so many of the animals visible.  

➹ Pointing to the Rhinos! ➹

➹ My new favorite picture! ➹

➹ Poppy made me ride the camel with the girls.  OUCH! ➹

➹ RHINO! ➹

➹ There were at least 6 elephants here, including a baby one!  She was only 6 months old! ➹

➹ Such lucky girls! ➹

➹ Poppy bought the girls sno-cones at the end of our zoo trip. ➹

The girls wanted to swim at the hotel, and so of course Olivia had to dress up her doll!  Loved how they were matching.  I promise I did not plan that!  

On Sunday, we had a great time visiting with Irma and her sister.  The girls did a great job walking around some little shops {and by great, I mean they didn't break anything} while we all visited.  

And, you know no road trip is complete without a trip to Cracker Barrel!  

Valentine's Day

Between the Daddy/Daughter dance the previous weekend, and David being out of town for the actual Hallmark Holiday, Valentine's Day this year was all about the girls.  And, you know, that's quite fine with me!

We did the same valentines this year as we did last year.  They were so much fun last year and I just think they are so cute and unique.  I will do picture valentines as long as the girls will let me.  We used the pictures that Marissa took of them, and they really turned out cute.

It is a lot of work, putting those little slits in the cards and then sliding the glasses on just right, but I would {and will} do it 100 times over.  It was so cute at Liv's party seeing all the kids in their sunglasses!

And, while I sort of helped put together and prepare for the party at school, I wasn't really working it and was actually able to follow Olivia around to the different stations.  And, I really liked being able to do that.  My dad was busy winning a golf tournament that day (whoohoo) and my mom was busy cheering him on, so I took Sydney to the party with me.  I was a little nervous about how she would be, but she was awesome!  She loved being at her big sister's party.

The girls love cinnamon rolls, so that was their special Valentine's Day breakfast.  Olivia got some new clothes and accessories for her Claire doll and Sydney got some cute panda things.  And, then a day or so later, she got her own doll like her sister!  These girls are loved rotten!

Here are a couple of my favorite Valentine's Day cards that the girls got.

➹ I'm going to pretend this blue is for the Colts and not the Kentucky blue that comes to mind when I see it! ➹

And, this happened during Valentine's week, so it's getting thrown in here.  Love how excited these girls get when they get to ride in the Jeep to school!

Daddy Daughter Dance Double Date

Say that five times fast.  

David loved taking the Olivia to the Valentine's Day dance last year, so he was doubly excited to take Sydney with them this year.  I think he may have felt differently after two hours of excitement, but I know the girls absolutely loved getting dressed up and spending time with their handsome daddy.  Here are a few pictures I took of them before they left!

Be still my heart!

A Bunch of Animals

Liv's spring field trip was to the Phoenix Zoo.  I was a parent chaperone on the last field trip, but learned that it's much easier just showing up at the field trip and walking along with the class as opposed to being in charge of a group of kids.  Olivia's teacher knew that our little crew of mom friends were all going, so she put the girls in our group and we were in charge of them anyway.  So much for me taking the easy route. ;)  

Sheri and I made shirts for the girls to wear and they turned out really cute.  I made a shirt for Sydney because I originally planned on taking her with us, but after a little bit of drama the night before, I changed my mind.  {She had a great adventure with her Nana and Poppy and didn't miss us one bit!}

The girls did a great job sticking together at the zoo.  Olivia and I had put together snacks for the class {animal crackers and animal fruit snacks}, so the girls basically had snacks and ate lunch and only got to see a few animals.  I think the group favorite was the Andean bear {which we discovered before we left for the zoo was the same type of bear Paddington was modeled after}.  He was full of energy and ran all over his area entertaining the kids.  It had been awhile since we had been to the zoo, and I'm thinking with these fantastic shirts, we should head back soon.  {This time with Sydney!}

After the zoo trip, Sheri and I grabbed the girls' bikes and walked them to school so they could ride them home.  After a quick play date at Riley's, Olivia and I rode our bikes over to Nana and Poppy's to pick up Sydney.  It was such a gorgeous afternoon.  We just love being able to spend so much time outside.