Easter 2013

This Easter post is long overdue but the pictures are still cute! As usual we had Easter morning at home and then over to the Lamis' home for Easter dinner. I don't have any photos of the afternoon- I need to use Jackie as my inspiration and walk around family events with a camera around my neck! :)

 

Chet will probably cringe at this picture which shows his normal state during the early morning holidays. Ha!

The Easter Bunny usually brings swim stuff in their Easter baskets- smart bunny!

Home

We moved to Maricopa a little over 3 years ago. It was a pit stop for us, a way for us to own a cheaper home, get back on financial track and then move on.

We thought we would be here 1-2 years- max. Truthfully, I didn't like Maricopa that much and yearned for our forever home/community. Now that we are here for a little longer (1-2 years) while Chet's mom battles her fight against cancer, I am embracing Maricopa for the home it has been to us, right in front of us.

Our school is fantastic (the highest rated school in the county, not just Maricopa) and somehow we lucked out and bought our house within walking distance from the school. What's even more amazing is that the school board just approved for all elementary schools to now include 6th grade- starting in the fall with Julia's 6th grade year. The middle schools here (currently 6th-8th) are iffy and was an area of concern for us and somehow we were granted and blessed with another year at our school for her. 

Our cul de sac was once filled with people that I didn't call "good neighbors" but within the last few months it has been filled with wonderful, new owners and people who I am happy to share our cul de sac with. You know- the kind that you can ask to borrow a cup of sugar from (or help move our insanely heavy new chicken coop- that neighbor might not answer my calls anymore! It was THAT heavy!).

I am now seeing Maricopa as my home. It has that small town feeling that I had heard about. I once commented to my sister that I wanted to live somewhere where everyone went to the town parade or knew if there was a new coffee place coming to town. It's funny- it was right here and I was too busy driving OUT of Maricopa to notice.

Case in point #1- the town puts on an annual egg hunt for the community- all free. Everyone knows about it and everyone shows up for it.

Case in point #2- it was our first year attending

And I am so glad we did. The girls had a blast running into people we knew, getting their candy and bouncing until it ended.

I doubt we will stay in Maricopa long or make it our forever home but I finally happy we are here and definitely making the best of it

.  

Sports junkie

Julia is a mini me in many ways but not when it comes to sports. I despised most organized sports, yet Julia already asked me how many sports you can play in high school! She must get it from Chet!

This is her 2nd year participating in the after school running club and was excited when the High School track team organized a city wide track meet for kids. Since we also needed to be somewhere else that morning, Julia only chose 2 events- 100 meter dash and the mile. She placed 5th in the dash finals (out of 30+ girls) and 7th in the mile (only 8 kids, mostly older boys, chose to run the mile). Poor girl- she ran the 100 meter dash and was immediately called to the mile event and then immediately to the dash finals (with less than a minute break between). She looked desperate to bail on the finals but chose to run anyway and still did great! The event was just for fun but a great intro to the sport of track and field as well as running a full track.

So excited to see where this girl goes!

Magical 4

I'll be honest- the last 4 years have been hard! I am very (very!) type A, like a little "me time", and like a sense of order. So, having 2 older kids with a toddler thrown in was hard for me. But, I knew she would soon grow up and I would love having 3. That time has finally arrived and I am loving it! 

I don't know if its the power of suggestion or if something truly changed in her biological makeup, but Camille turned that magical corner from crazy 3 to wonderful 4 this last week. (I'll ignore the recollection of her purposefully locking me out of the house this morning and closing the curtains after doing so. Ha!) She is so easy (easy for 4 yrs old) and a joy to be around. As all 3 girls get older, it's so easy to enjoy them and not worry about naps, diapers, tantrums, etc.

37 more school days until an entire summer with my BIG girls!

Iphone photo dump

I love my Iphone camera! It catches all those fun memories that wouldn't have been captured by a regular camera (since I don't bring it everywhere I go). Luckily, my phone is like a 5th appendage these days and it's always within reach!

We have had a busy month full of little events. I am enjoying the calm before the storm (i.e. Julia's soccer season).

Enjoying a girl's night with some friends watching the premiere of Alex vs Alex (Disney Channel Movie). Ashylnn (on the left, cut off my the Intsagram app) and Julia are still best friends despite our move over 3 years ago. 

 

At a local Tween dance at Skies of Blue. This time Bella was old enough to go so she was able to show off her moves with her friend Demara!

 Julia and Delaney were too cool for actual dancing!

 Bella even broke out her gumby moves while dancing!

 Ahh- spring weather, bike tires fixed and our neighborhood park calling our name.

 Ode to Spring #2- visiting GG and picking enough grapefruit to last all year. I miss Mesa and the all the blossoming citrus trees!

 Our good friends (who moved to Colorado a few years ago) were in AZ this last week and we were so excited to see them again. My friend Jennifer and I always say that someday we will be in laws as Bella and Bennett are such cute, little buddies. Even though we haven't seen them in 3 years (we visited them during our last trip to CO), these 2 sat in their own booth at the frozen yogurt shop and chatted away like old times.