JANUARY 2007

On one of Lowell's days off we grabbed some lunch out and headed to a nearby park to play croquet together as a family. Joshua wasn't too sure about it, but he got the hang of it after a few swings...

Here's Joshua (well, actually he's superman today!!) finishing up his lunch on the nearby basketball court while Daddy to puts the croquet set together.



Once we started playing we had to keep reminding Joshua to stop swinging his club around... especially after Lowell got knocked in the head with it...twice! It was a fun day. After croquet Joshua played on the playground and then we ran some errands.

 

When we got home it was time to make muffins for Lowell's team. Joshua was "helping" after I had finished filling the muffins cups (there was a little leftover batter). When Lowell asked to have the bowl so it could be washed to start the next batch, Joshua announced that he was not done yet and continued licking it clean. Pretty good little dishwasher!




FEBRUARY 2007

On the first of February, Joshua came home from school looking like this...



Pretty cute clown if ya ask me! Joshua is learning the letter "C" in preschool right now and he made a clown mask one day and a clown hat the next. (If you ever want an easy way to paint a child's face... his teacher's used washable markers. It came off completely... after a couple days of baths and scrubbing!) No bother... he had a grand 'ol time being a clown for the day.


February 24, 2007

Near the end of February lots of family came down to Phoenix and Mesa to celebrate my brother's 30th Birthday. While the guys went to the Drag races, the women had fun playing at the park and having lunch at McDonalds with all the kids.

 

We went to a playground near an airport and there are lots of planes parked in hangers nearby. The kids thought it was pretty cool. All the boys piled onto the tire swing (picture to the left) and had a good time going round and round.

 
They all took a turn getting bounced by grandma on the little animals. Not sure who had more fun...????



Joshua had a good time playing on the playground with all his cousins. The day was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

When the guys had breathed all the exhaust they could stand at the Drags... we went out for dinner at The Claim Jumper over in Tempe.

 

(Right) I got to hold Carter some more and he was a happy guy (I think he had just eaten!). It was nice to sit and socialize with family and friends. (Left) I love this picture my sister-in-law took of Joshua and Lowell.


MARCH 2007

After everyone headed home, the weather started warming up pretty quickly. On the cooler days Joshua and I headed outside to soak up the rest of the perfect weather before it disappeared into the heat of the Mesa summer. Joshua decided a homemade chocolate chip cookie was a great outdoor treat. I thought it was so carefree and fun to see him running around munching on a cookie...Oh, to be a kid again. I hope we are lucky enough to have a few more weeks of perfect sunshine before the heat creeps in.




PRE-SCHOOL PROJECTS

I am the worst procrastinator in the world and pregnancy isn't helping matters any! Joshua comes home from preschool everyday with these awesome projects. As I finally began orgainizing a book full of all these great memories I realized many of his projects were just too big to keep in the book... so I took some pictures. I'm making hard copies for his book, but I thought it would be fun to share them... so here are a few...

 

(left) Joshua was focusing on shapes when he created this cute giraffe. (right) During the Fall months he created this great tree made from his hand prints. This was not long after we told him we were pregnant and he had attended the first ultrasound with us. He said the coloring on the trunk of the tree was the baby (that's pretty much what the ultrasound looked like, ha ha!)

   
(left) Christmas-time! This was a fun decoration to have around the house. A hanger was attached to the back which made it really easy to display. (right) During Halloween Joshua created this fun witch. You may not be able to tell, but the nose and face stick out... they are made from an egg carton.


I think this has got to be one of my favorite things Joshua has brought home. He made this in February. It sure made our home festive for Valentine's Day! (You can only imagine all the confetti that was all over the house!!)


MARCH, 19, 2007
Getting Ready for Kindergarton

Today Joshua went in for shots. He is such a trooper. Now, as every mother knows, shots are harder for the mom to watch, then the kid to get! After promising him a Dairy Queen Blizzard for his pains we braved the Doctor's Office. Joshua didn't even cry. He made a little face and then promptly asked for a sticker. (Lowell joked that I needed the ice cream to make me feel better more than Joshua did!) Joshua was pretty proud of having TWO bandaids as well. We laughed when the doctor told us that once he's done with these we won't have to come back for shots until he's 15 or 16. I said, "Yeah, until June, when we get to start all over." Ha Ha! Perfect timing!


MARCH 28, 2007
Field Trip to the Fire Station

At the end of March Joshua went on his first field trip with his preschool class. They went to a local fire station to have a tour and learn about fire safety. I got to go along...

All the kids wore their matching yellow shirts, but it was a pretty cold and windy day so many of them ended up in jackets. First, they had lunch at a nearby park.



When all the kids had finished, Miss Jannie gathered them all together for a quick talk about how to behave at the fire station. When she told them that the fire fighters have a kitchen to cook all their own meals she asked "How many of you have Daddy's that are good cooks?" One kid that didn't raise his hand yelled out "My Mom is a terrible cook". The kid next to him said, "My mom can't cook either". I thought it was hilarious!


After a quick head count, we headed over to the Fire Station for our tour.


When we arrived, all the kids gathered around Miss Jannie and had one more little talk. She also let them get their wiggles out by jumping up and down for a few minutes. (Joshua is the one wearing the blue jacket with the #95 on the back).


Inside the Station we learned that the ladder truck was out on a call. The kids were very disappointed, but the remaining fireman began a tour anyways...

 
The kids enjoyed looking at this big Response Team Truck. They got to go in one door and out the other. Here's Joshua coming down the big stairs. As we were touring this area, we heard the doors coming up in the other garage area and learned that the Ladder Truck was back from it's call!! The kids were thrilled! Each of them got to sit in the front seat. If you look close you can see Joshua holding the steering wheel in the picture below.

 

Next the kids went back inside to the living room area...


...where Fireman David brought out all his gear and laid it on the floor. As he put it on, another fireman explained what each part was for and how it would protect David.

 
In the middle of the instruction, all the alarms went off telling the firefighters that there was a call. They all rushed around and headed out. It was very exciting for the kids to watch. Lucky for us, it was just a false alarm and they came back and finished up.

When David was done they pretended there was a fire and he crawled across the floor and pretended to rescue two of the kids. Joshua got to be one of them!! It was a great experience for the kids because once David was all dressed in his firesuit he looked a little scary. They talked about how the mask he was wearing might make him look scary, but it would help him breathe and if there was ever a fire they shouldn't hide from a firefighter. Below is Joshua being "rescued".



Joshua was a little uncertain about Fireman David after he was "rescued", but by the end he was excited to stand by him for a picture. He even got to hold his (quite heavy) hat.



After we had finished with all the excitment at the Fire Station, we headed back to the playground to play until it was time to go home.


Joshua got a cool firefighter hat and coloring book to bring home.

What a fun day!!

APRIL 1-7, 2007
Joshua is Star of the Week

The week following Joshua's field trip, he was chosen to be star of the week in his preschool class. This is quite an honor for the kids and he was very excited. I baked two different treats for him to bring in and share during the week and he was also spotlighted and made to feel special all week long. We made a poster with him doing lots of things he likes and sent it in with him. It was lots of fun for him!




Other Good News

Lowell recently got a new position at work. He is now the Advanced Technical Support (ATS)Team Lead (still working for the same company). This position is actually quite similar to his last position as a supervisor, but a lot less stress. He is now working Monday - Friday (for the first time in probably 3 years!) and he has more of a set schedule (which means we get to see him a little more often). We are happy that they are also willing to give him some time off when the baby comes. The Lord is truly mindful of our needs and we are grateful for this new position. It really couldn't have come at a better time!


EASTER 2007

On Saturday, April 7 we began our Easter celebrations with an Easter Breakfast at a nearby park with the members of our church ward. There were over 2300 candy filled eggs donated by various ward members and the kids had a blast finding them.
 

 

After that we went home and got ready to go to another park and have lunch with my family who had all come down for the annual Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant. It was heating up by the time we arrived at the park, but the kids had fun keeping cool with some little squirt guns that Aunt Amanda brought for them.


After we ate we all went our separate ways and met back at the temple grounds for some dinner and to watch the pageant. Once again, Joshua was enthralled with the pageant participants who were walking around in costume. He got to hold this Centurian's sword.



On Easter Sunday, we went to church. Joshua looked so handsome in his new suit!!


Later that day, Joshua had fun playing with all the toys and eating some of the candy in his Easter basket.

Joshua and his Daddy both love whoppers, so of course, this was the first thing he opened and began munching on. He was sweet, and shared with Daddy.

 
I think this shirt was Joshua's favorite thing in his basket. I have to explain this one... He has a long sleeved Power Rangers shirt (which is his favorite) and he keeps wanting to wear it, but it's just getting too hot for long sleeves. So... he was so excited to have a short sleeved one to wear during the summer. By the way, he doesn't even watch power rangers, but has a friend at school that he pretends to be a power ranger with.


Well... we hope you all had a Happy Easter. Ours was lots of fun!!


APRIL 19, 2007  

During April Joshua was supposed to attend his second and last field trip of the year. We got up and got ourselves all ready to go and were running out the door when I looked at the paper with all the information and realized it was 3 hours earlier than Joshua's regular preschool time. So... I had an "I'm a horrible mother" moment as I realized we were too late to attend. Joshua handled it better than I did. I called Lowell in tears and told him about the mistake and we decided to go miniature golfing at a place near Lowell's work in Scottsdale. It turned out to be a lot of fun and a great hour or so of family time.
 

Joshua wasn't quite getting the hang of how to hold his golf club, so Daddy gave him a quick lesson. Than, while Lowell was taking his turn, Joshua and I waited in the shade.

 

Then, Joshua got a turn to hit the ball all by himself. He got in a good hit, but then decided to help the ball into the hole without using his newly acquired golfing skills!


MAY 17, 2007

This evening we went to check on Joshua before we turned in for the night and found this...


You probably can't see it, but he's reading Cinderella. He told us he wanted to read this book to get ready for the baby. Apparently preparing to be a big brother is quite tiring.

MAY 19, 2007

Today we all went to a hospital near our home for a "Big Brother/Big Sister Class". I had to sign Joshua up for this class months ago to get in and it was worth it! We brought a stuffed animal along that was supposed to represent the new baby. He learned how to put a diaper on the "baby" and how to swaddle it in a blanket. They sang songs, read stories, and even watched a video about the baby.

 

When they were done they all sat down and had a snack. Then, Joshua drew a family portrait of what our family will look like once the baby arrives. I love it!!

 
When the class had ended the teacher passed out little backpacks with pictures and info about having a new brother or sister. Joshua loves the coloring book and crayons that tell all about being a big brother.


After a tour of the hospital maternity wing, Joshua got an "Official Big Brother" Certificate. The tour was great because Joshua was able to see the type of rooms we will be in after the baby is born. I think it helped to make it all a little more realistic for him. It was a memorable experience and well worth the time and effort. Joshua is going to be an awesome big brother!


MAY 22, 2007

Today Joshua went in for his Kindergarten Assessments. He did an awesome job. He's so excited about starting Kindergarten. The tests took about 20 minutes to complete and I waited outside while he and one of the teachers went into a classroom to complete the test. They went over colors, numbers, letters, and lots of other stuff to see if he was showing signs of reading readiness and where he was on his math skills. When they came out the teacher brought a bag of summer practice papers and told me that she was very impressed with Joshua. (Of course, this got a huge smile out of Joshua!!) She said he is ready to start kindergarten and suggested that we continue to work on his already learned skills over the summer. She also told us that he was well behaved and listened and followed directions very well. And that was it... we headed home to cool off and take a break.


MAY 23, 2007

Today was Joshua's last day of preschool. In celebration of a year of fun times and lots of great learning experiences, Joshua's class had a water party. I snuck in for the first few minutes and snapped some pictures before I had to run off to a church meeting.

 
There was a HUGE water slide that the kids really enjoyed. Miss Jannie told the kids that this class (her 4-5 year old class) was the only class that got to use the slide.


There were also small pools set up around the back yard. Joshua brought a water gun and had fun jumping from pool to pool squirting his friends. He had a great time and thanks to SPF 50 sunscreen... NO SUNBURN!!