Lego Zipline

Nathan created this zipline and then had a mini photo shoot to preserve his creation forever.

Flagstaff Day Trip

August 22, 2014

Curtis had some business to attend to at NAU so we took the opportunity to visit our old stomping grounds and enjoy a family outing.  

We drove around campus and showed the boys all the buildings Curtis and I spent our days in when we were in school.  Then we drove past our dear little apartment building that holds many sweet memories for us.

Our last agenda item, and the most popular and anticipated one, was "going for an adventure in the forest" as Bracken put it.

We hiked around exploring the great outdoors and stumbled upon a few treasures.  A nice mound of mud that Bracken enjoyed stomping his dino figurines in that he had stashed in his handy dandy backpack (he never leaves home without it), a skeleton of some sort of animal, many sturdy sticks that were used for fighting implements and a wide open grassy meadow perfect for a round or two of hacky sack (Curtis never leaves home without one) and frisbee toss.

When we were on our last diaper and band aid we decided it was time to pack up and head for home.  

Till next time Flagstaff!

While driving Marco said...

"Hey Mom, wanna see somthin'?"

So I turned around and this is what I saw...

Gosh he's cute!

Date with Nate

August 2014

This particular date night did NOT go as planned but it turned out pretty awesome in the end.  Our first plan was to grab a couple Subway sandwiches and have fun building some Mixel Lego set together while we ate dinner at a park.  But the mosquitoes had other plans for us.  In order to avoid becoming an all-you-eat buffet for a happy swarm of insects, we finished eating our sandwiches in the car and hatched Plan B. 

Ice cream at Culver's!

It was perfect.  We enjoyed our time together building some crazy little creatures while savoring our delicious dessert sans mosquitoes.  And to top off our evening we jammed out to the Wreck It Ralph soundtrack in the car on the way home.

First Day of Preschool

This year we are participating in a Mommy Co-Op Preschool, which fit our family's needs perfectly.  With our remodel project upon us our usually tight finances were even tighter so I was more than happy to join up with other moms and take my turn learning and exploring with some of Bracken's little friends.  Bracken has a large group of boys his age and our preschool has 6 energetic little boys full of life and character.  Bracken's going to have a blast!  

Big Boo Boo

On the second day of school, Nathan got of the bus and walked up to me saying "Mom, my hand's a little swollen."  He pulled his hand out of his pocket where he had been hiding it and I noticed immediately that he wasn't kidding.  His right hand was swollen to about twice it's regular size.

The night before, he noticed a bug bite on his wrist when it started to get itchy.  We put cream on it and sent him to bed.  When he woke in the morning he complained that his wrist felt stiff but I didn't notice any swelling.

As the day progressed the swelling got worse.  I asked Nate why he didn't tell his teacher about his hand and he said he did tell her but it wasn't too bad yet and he could still write easily so she didn't seem concerned.  Eventually Nathan could tell the swelling was getting even worse and instead of informing his teacher he kept it hidden under his desk and in his pocket.  I asked Nate why he didn't say anything about it a second time, and he said he was too embarrassed.  My mothers heart broke, poor kid.  I asked Nate what he did at recess and he said he walked around with his hand in his pocket and told people he didn't want to play.

I have had zero experience with bug bites that cause this type of side effect so I hopped on the trusty ol' Internet and started researching.  It didn't do me any good or put my mind at ease, so I called our doctor to see what I should do.  They suggested we bring him in to get checked out.  Even our doctor was a bit stumped with this particular case, mostly due to the fact that the bite/sting site was barely noticeable and didn't have any other tell tale signs besides the swelling.  We were sent on our way with instructions to give him regular doses of Benadryl to help fight the reaction, Tylenol for an as need basis for comfort, a prescription for an antibiotic because he had slight red streaks running up his arm and a follow up appointment for the next day to see if it was improving.

Nathan ended up missing the third day of school because his right hand was still swollen and it was difficult for him to write, plus he'd rather not have everyone see his awkward looking appendage.  He spent the day taking it easy reading books and watching movies.  By the time we visited with our doctor in the afternoon, the swelling had gone down a little and the red streaks had disappeared completely.  We could even see the mysterious bite/sting site.  It was declared that Nate would live!  He was able to return to school for the remainder of the week.  It took longer that I expected for the swelling to go away.  We kept giving him the Benadryl and antibiotic and after a week the swelling was totally gone.  

Moral of the story: avoid bug bites!

First Day of School

August 4, 2014

Liberty Traditional School

Second Grade

Mrs. Martin

Nathan LOVES school and the first day of school is right up there on his list with Christmas and his birthday.  He was up at dawn, dressed and ready to go.

Our little Ne Ne is growing up way too fast, we are trying to soak up every stage with him.  He loves life and people.  He loves to read and would spend most of the day curled up on the couch with a book if we let him.  He also loves video games of any kind and is more than willing to do any number of household chores to earn more screen time.  He loves playing basketball and soccer and is looking forward to taking his own soccer ball to school when his backpack isn't so full of school supplies.  He has a never ending supply of friends and he frequently manages play date invites, and he is always more than happy to oblige.

Go get 'em Nate!

Glassford Hill Hike

For the last weekend of the summer Papi and Nathan woke up early, before the summer sunrise, and headed up Glassford Hill.

They watched the sunrise as they hiked up our smallish mountain and enjoyed the view of Prescott Valley.  Nathan was amazed at how small the buildings looked from the top.

They enjoyed some egg McMuffins for breakfast at the top. 

This may become a new tradition for us.

Drizzly Excursion to the Zoo

For our last summer hurrah we visited our quaint little local zoo.  It sprinkled off and on but the cooler temperature made for active animals.  We were able to see all of them really good except the tiger, she wouldn't budge from her shelter.

We spotted the elusive Mexican Wolf laying beneath a bush!

Snapshots

Sitting in the window enjoying a fresh afternoon rain.

Bracken scaled this tree all by himself and he was so proud!

Bracken has a knack for collecting and creating.  He loves to play with our magnetix set and on this particular day he filled his pocket with the metal balls and then was super excited to find that the magnets would cling to the balls through his shirt.  He came up to me and said "Mom, look!  Two guns!" 

After a long afternoon of running errands I rewarded the boys with a treat from Sonic.  Nathan and Bracken chose their usual slushies but Marco was adamant about wanting a milk shake.  I didn't even know he knew what a milk shake was!  But he wanted one and he finished every last drop.

Bracken is totally happy with a stack of paper, stickers and crayons.  And if I really want to make his day I give some envelopes to stuff!

Another afternoon enjoying some projects.  Can you see the living room wall in the back corner?  The drywall is up and waiting to be mudded and taped! It took us a month to get to this point but it's progress.  Now to work on framing and dry walling the closet area.

Stake Pioneer Day Celebration

Our stake gathered at a park in Chino Valley for  little Pioneer Day fun.  We listened to a live folk band, listened to some pioneer stories, had a little parade for the kids, and ate some really good food.  It was hot but we camped out in the shade and had a good time playing and visiting with friends. 

To help cool down we picked up some slushies at Sonic to sip on the way home.  Little Marco didn't last long before he was zonked out.