The Heat is On

The weather in Phoenix has been beautiful just about every day since we've been here.  I think that I will really like the Winter and early Spring here.  We had a taste of Summer this past week and weekend, and I'm not sure that we will be friends.  105 degrees in April is new for us.

So, we are getting ready.  I stocked up on all kinds of sunscreen, bought the kids an extra swimsuit or two and some extra sunglasses because those always seem to be missing.  Especially Timmy's.

Nana and Uncle Rusty were here last week and we went to check out the Splash pad at our Rec Center.  We went last June when we were here for a visit.  It was a nightmare.  It was so so hot and Cate and Timmy wouldn't get near the water.  They both just hung all over me.

This year, they did much better.  It wasn't crowded, which helped and Uncle Rusty got in on the water spraying action.

Cate was pretty dramatic, but she did get wet and didn't want to leave.

In the shot above, she was surprised by a jet of water that suddenly turned on.  She kept yelling, "Mommy, please!  Please, Mommy!" But she kept going back for more.

 This afternoon, we went in our pool for awhile before dinner.  I got  both kids a tube to practice floating in.  They were unsure at first, but both were jumping off of the step and gliding into the water in their tubes after a little while.  This is big progress for kids who have not had much exposure to water.  We ate a really late dinner because they were having so much fun and didn't want to get out.

Tomorrow is a big day.  Our first swimming lessons.  They are in the same class and it should be a pretty mild introduction to the water.  I will still be surprised if there is no drama from Cate, but we'll see.  At the very least, a 4:30 swim class that meets every day for two weeks should ensure an early bedtime for everyone!

Full Circle

I love Easter. Springtime, new life, hope and new beginnings. I love Easter dinner and Easter candy and coloring eggs and egg hunts and, of course, eating a few pieces of chocolate before breakfast too.

Last Easter marked the beginning of our very long journey to Phoenix. The Monday after Easter, Tim left for his first two week stint in Phoenix while we stayed in Chicago. If I had known then that it would take the better part of a year to get all of us here, I would not have been happy.

This year, we enjoyed our long awaited visit from Mimi, Pop and Auntie Jenn. It was a different kind of Easter for us. One that included swimming in our pool and lying around in the sun while the kids took naps.

It was so nice to have them here. To have people who really know us and who really love our kids.

It was a refreshing break from our anonymity and identity here. We are the people from Chicago who don't know how to deal with their pool (I'm pretty sure we were the only ones swimming this weekend) or their desert landscaped yard. We are the people who are always asking questions (to neighbors, the woman in the checkout lane, the guy at Starbucks, the mail lady...), and who have very few answers.

But this weekend, with Mimi, Pop and Jenn, we got to take a deep breath and do what we know. We played cars and trucks.
We read new Pinkalicious books.
We shopped and ate Mexican food and just hung out and let Cate and Timmy entertain us.

My mom helped me to FINALLY get my china put away. And I don't mean finally in the sense of after the move. I mean finally in the sense that my beloved wedding china has never been out of the box. We had nowhere to put it in our old house, so it all stayed in the original packaging. For nine years. So we got it out, washed it, admired it, and put it all away.

Everyone got cleaned up for Church on Saturday afternoon. It seemed like a good time to go with the kids and it worked well with our lying around and relaxing schedule.
When I picked Timmy up from his class, the teacher told me that he had been a "gentleman" the whole time and was sharing so nicely. So nice to hear since he hasn't always been displaying his most gentlemanly side since we've been here.

I don't seem to have any pictures with their Easter baskets, but it was fun to watch them hunt around together for their Easter morning surprises. When Cate spotted her basket, she exclaimed, "The Easter Bunny brought just what I wanted!" A Sleeping Beauty Barbie. So, of course, Timmy followed suit when he found his new Mater and Mc Queen cars to replace the ones he lost.

We had a great weekend and it was hard to see them leave this morning. All of the anticipation of the visit and it went by so quickly. I hope that we are able to learn to adjust to short visits and having to say good-bye at the end. For now we will look forward to Nana and Rusty's visit next week and start planning our first trip back to Chicago.

Little by Little

We have been plugging along, continuing to establish a new routine.

For the most part, we don't get much done in the house and instead we go to the playground,

or to the Rec center to workout (me), paint (mostly Cate), to play basketball (mostly Timmy), and to lay on a mat after working out under the guise of stretching but really checking Facebook and reading blogs (all me).

In the category of small victories, our pool should be open this Easter weekend for our visit from Mimi, Pop and Jenn,
and our new kitchen table arrived this weekend. Out with the tiny card table, in with the huge farmhouse table and bench. (Please ignore the ridiculously empty mantle and shelves in the family room.)

We still need chairs for the other side of the table, but at least the card table is out.

Now it's on to preparing for Easter and (hopefully) hanging out by the pool! That will be an Easter first for us!