Pretty Anja

Just felt like taking some pictures of her after church on the 20th...

Props for my Love...

Even after being together for over eight years Ben can still surprise me. Friday the 18th of April we headed out to dinner at Macayo's.
I ordered the Fajita Quesadilla
Tender steak or chicken fajitas, folded in a grilled flour tortilla with green chiles, onions and cheese. Served with rice, refried beans, sour cream and guacamole. Yum!
I was looking at the menu after picking that item and wondering whether it was enough food for me...(I was hungry) when Ben says " Well if it doesn't fill you up we can always order room service."
I look up to see him sliding a hotel key across the table to me.
After my shock and amazement he let me know that Jed would watch the kids, my mom would pick up Triston for his early morning baseball game and I didn't have to worry about anything more.
I love this man so much! He knew I had a week of spring break coming up with the kids and decided I could use a relaxing evening with just the two of us.
We stayed the next city over in a very comfortable hotel room, top floor corner suite! It was the nicest room I have ever stayed in.


We sat in the spa that night, I haven't been in a spa since we moved from our apartment complex in Simi. That has been 3 and a half years!

An example of our room!

We had a great time and even though it was just a one night slumber party, I came home a happier more relaxed me...
Thank you Ben for being a thoughtful husband. I love you!

A new Frontier....

Doggy Underwear...
Yes I have found cute underwear for my dog when she is in heat... Does Rosie love it?
No
Does she leave them on....
Yes


I swear I am not a weird dog nut... this just makes me laugh...

Adventures of Nika

After seeing my beautiful sister's blog and her sons head stuck in a banister I realized I failed to post these pictures of Nika being well....Nika.
We heard her in the toy room yelling for help, this is what we found.
She said she was trying to show Liam what to do...hmmmm
She wasn't to happy that we were giggling and taking pictures.
Daddy told her, "I want to see a smile!" before he would help her out....aren't we mean!
I love that she is wearing this shirt! "I didn't Do it!"
She smiled and was saved.... lesson learned...don't climb through the sink in your play kitchen

Some things I love...and am trying to love

I love

And I am not talking about just loosing weight and having no pudge ....no I am talking about NO Pudge Fudge! Which after translation is fat free brownies! They even help people with no self control by telling you how to make one serving brownies in the microwave to stave off possibly eating the whole batch at one sitting. I seriously gained 12 pounds in one month. So I decided that now that I am no longer breast feeding I need to watch what I eat and make a concerted effort in eating healthy. No I am not dieting I am liviting! Anyhow these brownies are 100% better for you and if you are a chocoholic like me then it is a good substitute.
I also love
These have been popping up all over AZ lately. They are actually pretty cool stores (a lot like trader Joes but better...side note I always forget the name of Trader Joes in casual conversation and end up calling it Farmer Johns...) Anyhow these stores are awesome for anyone wanting a healthier selection of fresh foods but I also see it as an awesome answer for single people or small families that are busy. If you want a healthy fast food go check out their store. They have a lot of pre made food to buy in a snap. Plus the store just feels friendly...maybe because it is small...who knows. Ben told me that they want to me like a neighborhood market where you know the butcher and he knows what cut of meat you like. Whatever their aim I would say it is working! I love it!

I am working on loving working out. I get motivated and then loose interest, but I hope that I can learn to love it and not just like it.

New things since Easter

1. I have been introduced to Rock Band and can say that I like being the drummer the best.
2. I also got to play Guitar Hero and let me tell you, for someone who doesn't like video games I actually enjoyed these two games!

3. I celebrated my 28th Birthday. Enjoying a quiet day and a fun evening of dinner at The Yardhouse in Glendale AZ. We have this new shopping/dining area just north of the cardinals stadium and coyotes stadium.
The Yardhouse is there and it has some great food. I had the Porcini Crusted Halibut - which is porcini cream sauce and white truffle oil with asparagus and bok choy over Parmesan mashed potatoes. Yum!
We had to dress up, how often is it your birthday!?
You know I miss working somewhere on my birthday and having flowers delivered and seeing all my coworkers stare... but the next best thing is having flowers delivered when your neighbors are out watching! Ben works for an amazing company called Beneficial Financial Group. This was from his bosses! They always out do themselves! The kids all get birthday cards and gift certificates to ice cream or Mcdonalds on their birthdays, and Ben got $50 to Amazon! I love this company!
4. Triston had opening day ceremonies for little league on the 5th of April.
He is on his first team and they are the Diamondbacks! They had the mayor there and the police and fire department. Also city counsel members and the kids got to high five them all! They were playing patriotic music and did the whole national anthem and pledge of allegiance and it really got my heart swelling with patriotic pride. I actually found myself thinking "Wow this really is America's favorite pastime!"
Nika was having fun walking Rosie around a bit. They played their first game on the 12th and their team won 7-6. Triston was up to bat his first time ever with the bases loaded!
I would love to say he hit a home run but it wouldn't be true! However he did hit a single and eventually scored in a run himself. I never thought I would say this but I am actually enjoying watching him play!
I had resisted little league sign ups mostly because I didn't like the sport but after living here a few years and going to quite a few major league games and now watching Triston play it is actually pretty fun! I don't have any shots from his first game because I had to have him at the field by 7:30am and my sleep addled brain forgot the camera. But we have several months to go so I promise to post some action shots soon!
5. Anja has been busy with girl scouts and had a slumber party/luau at her leaders house. It was only till 10pm but that is pretty exciting when your 5! She got to wear her Pj's and when she got there the leaders daughters came running out to say Aloha and to wrap one of these around her neck. They got flip flops and got to decorate them and they got some colored sand and grass skirts. She was a happy girl when she got home.
The evening was such a success that another girl in her troop that lives four house down decided for her birthday to have a PJ party. Anja was excited that she was able to "walk" to her party. They had a fun pampering session and came home with a cute denim skirt/purse they had decorated with glitter glue, some chapstick, nail polish, a new travel brush/mirror It totally reminded me of my youth because we had these same push out brushes. Way to go 80's!
6. Nika has been up to her usual self. Saying funny things, making funny faces, and being a mischief maker. The other day in the car she says to Ben. "Daddy Jesus is up in the sky with Heavenly Father." He replies, "Yes." Then she says, "I want to get out of my seat, get a balloon and fly to them." This gave us quite a laugh. But also made me thankful for yet another example why I love my sweet children and their righteous desires.
7. Liam is getting to be a funny little boy. He makes faces just like Nika and likes to push buttons, literally! He turns off the TV all the time and then turns to see what we are going to do, all with a look of delight on his face! He just makes me laugh all the time and I love giving him kisses and hugs. Lately he has taken to grabbing my hand and directing me where he would like me to go. Something about holding that little hand and allowing him to govern my movements just melts my heart.
Here is a picture we took of him after eating Spaghetti! He is thrilled to be such a mess!