3.24.2010

Happy 6th Anniversary


Last year Jonathan started a "tradition" of planning a surprise anniversary date.  Read about here and see pictures here.  We ended up at Oregano's - sooo my favorite restaurant, then indoor kart racing - totally beat jonathan in my time, and then to South Mountain - where we looked at the city, and all the teenagers either smoking pot or making out. 

It sparked the "tradition" of taking turns each year... this year being my turn.  I figured out a GREAT idea... the Tempe Iprov. Not only does he love comedy, but bad language and crude humor.  It was bound to be a hit!  I staked out who was coming on our date... turns out it was Pablo Fancisco.  BTW... he SO does not look like his picture in person... he's a bit older and somewhat nerdy.  I had to order them on line, but every time I sat down at the computer I didn't have my card, so I kept procrastinating, which is so not Jaime-like.  I finally go to order them and .... they are SOLD OUT for that night.  Seriously??  AND my mom was booked for Friday night, so we had to go on a Thursday.  Who goes on a date on a Thursday night?  Us.

We ate there, which I would reccomend not doing.. .should have totally done Oregano's... but now we know.  And, it was pretttttty hilarious.  Yet, not for the faint of heart.  I would normally be very grossed out and offended at their jokes... I mean, there's only so many pot, masterbation, and sex jokes one can take... plus all the f-bombs.  Geez.  But, funny nonetheless.  And, he liked it!

3.21.2010

Spring Break... Day 5!

This day was somewhat low key.... since Jonathan and I had just gone out the night before for our 6th Anniversary... blog to come.... Zoe had spent the night at Grandma's so I met up with them at West Gate for sandwiches and the fountains.

Ready... set... go!

The water was FREEZING, but that didn't stop Zoe.  There was one little boy there who was literally shivering and could hardly talk, but he kept going back in.  I'm looking forward to more days/evenings spent here in reclaimed water, which Zoe may or may not have peed in.  One moment she complained she had to go... then changed her mind after standing over a fountain.  Great....  I think I need a margarita in my hand the next time. :)

3.19.2010

Spring Break... Day 4!

Grandma Collard watched Zoe and Hayden while I did a little shopping.  I met some friends at the mall, where they started shopping at the Buckle.  Now... if you are a thriftster like me, shopping for jeans at the Buckle does not compute... the prices there were high enough to give me heart palpitations.  Everyone was tyring on jeans... super CUTE jeans I might add.  I was standing there in my Wal-Mart Levi's shorts (yes... Wal-Mart actually does sell Levi's) feeling totally out of style and frumpy... so, I thought, why not try some on with them, just for the fun of it.  Right!  I walked out of there with some jeans that were more than any of the other four girls'!  OMG.... I could have bought 2 pair, but couldn't figure out how to justify that!  I'm thinking cereal for dinner next week might be in order....

Then we took Zoe to Build-a-Bear.  No Hayden at BaB... guess he's too old and cool.  I had so many coupons and gift cards that she got a FREE one... gotta love coupons!  Especially after I just bought jeans...
wow...so serious...

and we ended up with a frog named... Froggy....

Spring Break... Day 3!

Thanks to Hayden's mom, we have a membership to the Phoenix Zoo... which is super nice for our days off and the splash pad.  I love being a stay at home mom... or at least pretending I am sometimes....

Zoe and I got to hang out with some of our BFF's ....

Jaelyn, Brody, Leighton, Zoe, Matti, Jacey

Bre, Leslie, Sarah... Love these girls!

Me and Bre (I always feel the need for a self portrait to prove I was there...)

I don't want a picture!

Thanks Matti... for smiling.  We attempted to get all 6 kids in the picture... but Zoe refused to smile, Jaelyn and Jacey had just had an argument, Brody was off somewhere, and Leighton wasn't quite ready....

Best attraction at the Zoo?  Feeding the ducks...

Finally... a smile!

And we brushed the goats

As you can tell, this day was also St. Patrick's day.... Zoe and I met Grandma Collard for some pizza and Maggie Moo's, while the boys went shooting.  Thanks Grandma!
Great pic, Zoe....

...#87...

Pay off garage door!  Thank you tax refund....

Our garage door stopped working about a year ago... it's some weird kind that uses cables on the side, not a motor on the roof.  We did it by hand for a few months, until Jonathan got fed up with it and decided he could fix it himself... because to have someone come out, it would have been several hundred dollars because of the kind of opener it was.  He ordered parts, etc., and was able to install a new one for way less money than getting it repaired.  And now.... we get to use openers.  Fabulous!'

What a handy guy!

101 in 1001

...#80....

Use cash envelope system for 1 month! 

We have successfully done this... and are almost finished with our 3rd.  I was hoping that this would help us stick to certain budgets (i.e. groceries, dining out, "entertainment", and clothing), which I think it has for the most part.  I also wanted this to help us figure out if my budgeting for those items is actually realistic.

I've figured out that my budget was lacking a couping bills... hmm... go figure...

I think we will eventually get rid of the cash system, but for now it's helpful!

101 in 1001

3.17.2010

Spring Break - Day 2 - The Park!

3.16.10

Day 2 of Spring Break wasn't as exciting as the first.... the Spring Training game... but it was fun, especially since it involved absolutely no work.  We started off the day with a trip to Zoe's doctor to get her last HIB "shock" for preschool....  Where I left my car not only unlocked the whole time, but Zoe's van door was literally open the entire time we were in there... close to 30 minutes.  Fabulous.

Second stop wasn't as exciting... a trip to Brighton for Kim's birthday.... which we also celebrated Friday night with some Ghetto bowling and celebrity sightings.... see her blog for more details!

Then, we stopped at the Goodyear park for a little Fun with Physics, compliments of my husband who brought a solar balloon for a little entertainment.

This solar balloon is HUGE!

Hayden looking oh so excited... must be a pre-middle school thing.


The last thing on Day 2's agenda invovled only Oregano's and my BFF's.... no pictures, unfortunately, but lots of laughs!

3.16.2010

Snipe Hunting

3.16.10

A few weeks ago (I know... I'm totally behind on this) Jonathan took Hayden and his friend Sky snipe hunting.  What makes this classic is that the two boys seriously believed Jonathan was taking them to find actual snipes.  They wondered if they looked like this....

Jonathan assured them they did not... that they looked something like a rat / bunny....

They were ready with their rocks... to smash together for noise... and large trash bags... to catch them in of course.

Jonathan took them all around the golf course, creepy "hobo" tunnels (as Hayden nicknamed them), and who knows where else. 

(afterwards... I guess Jonathan wore them out!)

Alas, they did not find a snipe... this time....

3.15.2010

Self Portraits by Zoe

3.15.10

These cracked us up... hope you enjoy them too.

Spring Break Baby!

3.15.10

This is the first... of hopefully a few... Spring Break adventures.  We visited the Goodyear Ballpark for a Spring Training Game with the Reds and A's (which we didn't even realize until about halfway through when we looked at the tickets).  Eh... whatever

Little Mermaid... and #37....

3.15.10

Zoe, my mom, my grandma, and I all went to the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater to see Little Mermaid.  It was absolutely adorable seeing all the little girls dressed up.... We also got to see Amanda, Fenway, Kia, Jacquie, Karen, and Leslie!  Good times....

And when I say "Dinner" theater... what I mean is it was a kid's dinner come true.... mini corn dogs, mini hotdogs, sliders, pizza, spaghetti, french fries, and mac and cheese.  Luckily, we also had a salad bar.   Plus... dessert!

Zoe hardly moved through it... couldn't keep her eyes off the stage.  We enjoyed it so much that we went home and bought tickets for the Charolotte's Web play in June.  Can't wait!

Zoe refused to smile...

...or take a serious picture....

(#37 on the list!

3.09.2010

Nope!

I went to the Y... with Zoe... and .... nothing.  No problems.  Praise the Lord!