Our Date Night!

So for us to not have kids on a Friday night is almost near unheard of. We always manage to have at least one which means that night consists of doing "kid" things.

Somehow we managed to be childless this past Friday night and I must say it was perfect timing! I feel like Darren and I haven't had a minute to ourselves to just be and that has taken a toll on us, in addition I started school last week which has added to the craziness!

So Friday night we decided to go to Sakura and for anyone who has not been to Sakura and has not done the Teppan Yaki (or however it is spelled) you must try it! Its an amazing experience! I have not been there in years, so it was a super nice treat!

We had an amazing evening which included great food, good wine and a great Teppan Chef!

Fall 2009

I am really excited about this time of the year.. The Dallas Cowboys have their first regular season game on the 13th of Sept against Tampa Bay... go Cowboys!!!!!! I am also set to start school today. I am excited to hopefully be done with school soon.... it seems like I have been going to school for years and years.

The other thing exciting about this time of year is we are closer to having cooler weather. While living in Tucson has it perks the number one downfall is definitely the 100+ degree weather. Its miserable during the summer and while the monsoon does provide a little relief, it is still hot.

I defnitely think the next few months will be a nice change of pace and I am looking forward to having some fun with the family, maybe even squeeze in a trip to California!

Hailey's 8th Birthday

Funness!

Sunday night we decided to go to dinner and we opted for Pizza Hut (Mainly because its the only thing close that we haven't had lately). The food was great, and as usual with all the kids the entertainment was great!

We enjoyed great pizza... and
took goofy pictures..





















































and pictures of feet....strange I don't remember that one..











Dylan and I also decided to create a Fantasy Football team.. our Draft is Wednesday, I can't wait!

Lazy Sundays...

I must say today was one of the most quiet Sunday's in a long time. With Darren working this weekend with the Navy, Hailey with her dad and the boys with their mom, the only ones home have been Chloe and I.

While I miss the fact most of my family is gone, it has been nice having a little bit of peace and quiet. I could have used this time to get more done around the house (like I ever get caught up..ha!) Instead I have decided to lounge around in my comfy clothes switching between the Disney channel for Chloe and the Food Network for me.

While I haven't gotten to much done today (besides laundry) I have gotten a few new recipes for dinners. I think today was a perfect start for the rest of the week!

"Time can change in every breath we take"

This has got to be one of my most favorite quotes ever. Its so true, because things change in a matter of minutes or sometimes seconds. It is scary to know we are so close to the end of the year, and I just got used to the idea of writing out 2009. Where has all the time gone?

The one thing I have always been told is that you can buy anything in the world except for time, and now that I have children and I witness how quickly they are growing I realize how much that quote really coincides with my life. I hope that going forward I will always have the realization of how precious time really is and how precious life really is.

Golf N Stuff + Stuff

This past weekend Hailey and Chloe were with their grandmother, and we had Dylan and Kyle. Since we didn't have the girls, we figured it would be nice to take the boys to do something special.

Friday night we ended up going Cosmic Bowling, which has to be one of the funnest things ever.. We played 3 games, Dylan won the first time, I won the 2nd time and the 3rd game was incomplete.. and a side note for the husband... if you weren't so competitive, it wouldn't hurt so much...I still love you though!

Saturday night we took Dylan, Kyle and their friend to Golf N Stuff... we got there around 8:30 and didn't end up leaving until midnight! I have posted some pics, unfortunately they did not come out to well I think because of the darkness.
































Sunday Darren and I started a 2,000 Piece puzzle (because we have that much time on our hands, Ha!) I have posted a picture of Day 1's Completion.. we have yet to work on it since then and it is still sitting on our coffee table, but we are bound and determined to get this thing finished!












Monday night our A/C ended up going out.. we had someone scheduled to come out Tuesday evening, which meant that Chloe and I were stuck in a hot house all day, luckily the weather was mostly overcast which kept the temperature somewhat low until the afternoon when the sunshine was bright and hot!

The house actually got up to 89 inside... it was really sad because at one point in the afternoon it almost felt cooler outside then inside... sigh. Luckily we are up and running again and things seem to be going well. I am looking forward to this weekend even though we have zero plans which is actually nice for a change!

Its the Case of the Mondays

I cannot stand Mondays... Now that I am home you would think that would go away, its not like anything really changes for me, its pretty much like any other day with the only difference being that Darren is at work after a weekend.

It feels like now that I am at home my days collide into one and its hard to keep track of everything going on. I feel so overwhelmed with things I have to do it makes me wonder how I managed to juggle everything before staying home.

I hope eventually with going to school, taking care of the house and kids that I manage to come up with some sort of system or schedule to make my life more efficient. The funny part is its been so long since I have stayed home with my kids, I often wondered what moms that stayed home did all day?

My answer to that question... is whatever they want! I see my daily schedule being very flexible.. I go with the flow on whats going on with Chloe and Darren's day. I tend to make plans and try to schedule what I am going to do.. but the plans change at a drop of a hat. My main priorities throughout the day are:

1. Be home at 2:30 to get Hailey from the bus
2. Make sure the house is straightened
3. Make sure Frankie gets out to go to the bathroom
4. Make sure dishes are done
5. Do laundry if Darren needs clothes for work
6. Check up on all my social accounts (Facebook, Myspace)
7. Try to come up with some brilliant idea for dinner while trying to satisfy everyone's taste
8. Work with Chloe on all of her preschool stuff (teaching her letters and how to write them)

Of course things to do get thrown into the mix all the time, but overall this is my To-Do list every day. I don't have a particular order but they beautiful thing is they all get done!

I Heart Cake

But not just any cake, I am totally craving this amazing chocolate cake from Costco. I believe the name of the cake is the "All American Chocolate Cake". Its comparable to heaven in a bite. I love it so much.. I think I may convince my husband that we need to take a road trip (literally a road trip) to Costco to pick this little baby up.

The problem with including the husband is this master plan is that he may actually want a bite of my little piece of heaven. I am not sure how I feel about this seeing as we have to strategize and execute a road trip to get the cake. This may be one treat I want to store and hide and keep all for myself. While many of you may think this is a selfish move, all I have to say is once you try this cake, you too will end up plotting a secret cake relationship.

The second part of the plan that is an obstacle, is the fact that this cake comes with a cost, and a hefty one at that. In one 8 oz slice of cake is 900 calories and 38 grams of fat. Now I am not the type of person to sit there and count calories, however I do have a pretty good idea of the amount of calories I intake at a meal or snake. With that said, it really comes down to what you want and what you need... for me this cake is clearly a need!

In July.....

We got a dalmatian. Her name is Frankie, shes super cute!

Frankie and Darren.. I think Frankie was terrified of the camera, she took off running as soon as I pulled it out... weird

Chloe was silly.....

We couldn't find Chloe for about 20 minutes, and finally came to realize she had fallen asleep under the side table and she had placed pillows around the table to hide herself!

My friend Kasey had baby Landon.. Congrats Kasey!!!

Hailey started 3rd grade, Dylan started 8th grade and Kyle started 6th grade

We bought a brand new 2008 Saturn Outlook.. I love it!

Also in July... My stepsister Donna had baby Joshua and My friend Crystal had baby Jase.. Congrats!!!!

My Top 5 Summer Must Haves!

The weather in Tucson has gotten out of control (I'm talking temperatures as high as 107) and because of this I have compiled a list of things that are must-haves during the summer in Tucson. Now I could think of probably a million things that are necessities, however this is really just the things important to me!

#5 Must Have: Sunscreen










#4 Must Have: Bright Nail Polish

#3 Must Have: Margaritas










#2 Must Have: Eegees's













#1 Must Have: Flip Flops