AZ Science Center

One of my friends invited us to go with her and her kids to the AZ Science Center a few weeks ago. It was so much fun and Sydney loved hanging out with her friend Caleb (next to her in the picture). They both enjoyed playing with magnets, iron, different colors on a light box, trying out different instruments and watching the frequency of waves, learning about volcanoes, and all the other things we did!

This was one of their favorite exhibits. It was this giant airplane in some kind of wind tunnel thing. When they pressed the buttons on the joy-sticks it would create different wind currents and "fly" the plane. We had to "fly" the planes several times!

Caleb and Sydney are hard at work transferring rock from one side of the box to the other! Sydney loved the child sized shovels.
There was another exhibit about airplanes and a miniature plane we could go in and pretend to sit on the seats. Shauntel and I laughed because there was way too much leg room...maybe these were supposed to represent first class seating!
It was a fun day and Sydney loved all the interesting exhibits.

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Sydney's First Haircut

I took Sydney in a few weeks ago to get her very first hair cut (well really it was just a trim). I guess I just got tired of the daily battle with her tangles and curls. She loved having her hair washed in the little sink. Later when she was at home she asked if we could get a sink like that to wash her hair! She was very good while the lady cut her hair.

And the final result....
I still have so many posts to catch up on...so hopefully by the end of this week, everything will be mostly updated! I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We just got back from St. George where we spent Thanksgiving with all of Mark's family. I'll post more on that later!

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Very Cool New Shoes!

I love new running shoes!

After way too many miles logged on my old pair of running shoes and recurring knee pain every time I wore them...it was time to buy a new pair. I also discovered that the air pocket on one of my old shoes had been popped (which could have been causing my knee pain). Finding the perfect running shoe is never an easy task. First of all, the only stores in the entire valley that carry a large selection of Saucony running shoes are about 45 minutes away. I waited with great anticipation all last week to go get my new shoes. When I first tried these (they are Saucony Pro Grid Hurricane's) on in the store I started laughing at the difference between my old shoes (that I had worn there). Then last Saturday I took them out for their first run on the Tolleson high school track. I love these shoes! I have gone running several times in them so far...and I haven't had any knee pain and they provide the best stability for my ankles! Right now, my favorite place to go for a run is on the high school track, at night. Usually the lights are on and no one is even on the track so I get the whole thing to myself. There is a club soccer team that practices on the field (which is probably why the lights are on) but they never bother me. It is definitely something I look forward to.

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F is for Farm!

This past week has been filled with lots of activities and just a bit of stress (not like parents ever experience that)! First, Mark and I want to wish all our family and friends that live in Southern California the best, and that they are all safe and their homes are ok. Sometimes watching horrible disasters on the news makes you very grateful for all the blessings of a safe home and a place to live. We are so blessed to have our beautiful little girls and a home in Phoenix. Maybe it is not always "heaven on earth" but as long as we have each other...I guess nothing else matters too much. Our weekend started off with great anticipation for the rare night off and plans to stay home and do nothing.
Well...that didn't happen. Sydney and Sophie were playing in the living room when Sophie rolled onto her tummy. This is not a new occurrence and neither is Sydney helping Sophie roll back over once Sophie starts to squeak (because she is done being on her tummy). However, just as I was in the middle of making dinner, I heard a scream from Sophie. Sydney had flipped her over but somehow Sophie's arm was still pinned under her at a weird angle. I immedietly unpinned her arm and picked her up...but she was still crying and cried for awhile. After Mark got home we decided to take her to the pediatric urgent care because she was still crying and would not move her arm. The doctor was very nice there and looked at Sophie right as we arrived. She was also concerned that Sophie would not move her arm so she sent us into Phoenix to St. Joseph's hospital (which is known for excellent neurological care). They did all the x-rays and everything came back ok. Plus since it had now been several hours since the incident she was acting a bit better. She would at least move her fingers and smile! The doctors told us she would probably be ok...and she was. Saturday afternoon she started moving her arm like normal and grabbing for her toys. Thank goodness things are back to normal.
On Thursday last week, Sydney's pre-school class took a field trip to a farm. Here she is with one of her best friend's, Maddy.
Sydney is grinding lots of corn to feed to the chickens. She also tried to feed this duck that was wandering around. Sydney kept chasing the poor duck (and trying to feed him corn too) all over until I finally could catch her and make her stop.
She loved all the animals and was not afraid to pet or feed any of them.
All the other kids were scared to try and feed this burro or donkey (I don't know which it is) but Sydney stepped right up and let it eat out of her hand. Then the other kids decided that it was ok to try to feed the burro/donkey as well.

This little pig kept sliding underneath the fence and running around. Sydney was delighted and tried to catch it. Then it ran back in the pen and hid underneath the trough that the goats were eating out of. Sydney ran right into the pen, pushed the goats out of the way and was trying to crawl underneath the trough to get the pig out. I went to stop her from getting THAT dirty and instead she is just trying to pull the poor pig out. The pig was kind of cute so I don't blame her for wanting to hold it... And if anyone was wondering, Sophie slept calmly in her stroller the entire time, which is a good thing since I spent lots of time chasing Sydney all over.
We got the girls all dressed up in their costumes to go to the ward "trunk-or-treat" activity. Sydney was excited to be a witch.
We dressed Sophie up like a little black kitty--to match with Sydney of course. So Sydney and her "kitty" went to their party!

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