SUMMER

It's SUMMER!!! We've been counting down the last few weeks of school, and it's finally here! I get so excited for summer and all the fun activities I get to do with the kids, and then it hit me (just like it does anytime the kids are on school break)..."Oh ya, I work, my schedule doesn't change." Haha! I had taken a few years to be home with the kids, which was amazing and super hard work, then when Daxton started Kindergarten I went back to working at the Hospital. It's been such a weird thing for me. Balancing work, still running a home, and trying to make sure Danny and the kids get enough/the best of me. This is the second summer since I've been working, now with a group of transplant surgeons I met while working at the Hospital. It's really rewarding, but when these school breaks come, I get so emotional that I'm not with them. The mom guilt is REAL people!! Grateful that I have so many things in my life that I care a ton about. Even if it's hard to balance it all. 

This summer the kids are doing summer camp through their school. They've done the after school program the last 2 years, so it's been perfect to have them continue to go through the summer with some of their friends and familiar Leaders. They have the best field trips lined up every week! As luck would have it, the flu hit our house the first week of summer camp. Well, I guess I should say the flu hit the ladies of the house...somehow the boys managed to avoid it (cross everything and knock on wood!) Navy missed the first week of camp and was able to go on her first field trip this week to Sunsplash water park. So far Daxton has gone to OddySea Aquarium and the Museum of Natural History. I kind of love that they're getting a chance to go to some of these places we've wanted to check out for a while. Now they can tell us their favorites and be our tour guide when we go back as a family! 

When we were finally feeling better from that awful flu. Notice the mess at the bottom of the stairs needing to go up to the kids room. Operation "little BIG move" has started. So excited to minimize!!! More to come on that!

This was taken just after we told Dax it was time to get ready for bed. He held Danny and said, "You're sleepy. Let's go to bed my child." Ha! This kid.

It's also been a really good food week!! Last Wednesday we ended up taking a different route home than we usually do and ran into this Thai restaurant only a couple blocks from our apartment. We're pretty loyal to our favorite Thai place downtown, but decided on a whim to try this one since its right around the corner. It was so nice to break up our typical routine and try something new. Honestly, it wasn't our favorite. Tom Yum in downtown Phoenix has our heart!! Dinner was a complete success though! As soon as we sat down Dax asked if I had still had "cheaters" in my purse. They're these little plastic holders that you stick chopsticks into to make it easier to use them. I ended up having 2 of them I keep for the kids in my purse that I'd forgotten about. You would have thought I was a superhero! Dax was so excited to get to eat with his own chopsticks. Also, it should be noted that everyone got along during dinner. No bickering or whining about what I made. Woohoo!! Maybe I just need to present our weekly meal plan on a dinner menu and let them eat with cheater chopsticks every night and I won't get so much resistance. Too much? This mama gets tired on weeknights, so a surprise mid-week dinner out was a dream!! 

I also got to sneak away for a girls night with these two! Lindsay, Kamaili and I went to Gadzooks! One bonus of having great food in Midtown is I can lure my friends in the west valley into coming to visit me. 😉 You can't beat a night with good friends. Laughing, eating and talking until the place shuts down. (One piece of advise, if you go to Gadzooks- try their cornbread as an enchilada filling. It sounds weird but it's SO GOOD! Lindsay got me to try it and I'm hooked!)

After a couple busy weeks, I'm excited to spend some time at home celebrating Danny for Fathers Day!! No big plans. Just being together as a family!