We Got in Trouble with Fun this weekend

So our weekend began with a little fun with the storm we had brewing in our valley Friday night. Jeff and I asked grandma to watch to baby while we went storm chasing for some good pics. Well after some climbing and getting a little wet , we were able to snap some good ones. Since this storm we haven't seen any more rain...oh well nice while it lasted.

Sunday morning JAT art had a photoshoot in Tempe , so we dropped of Jeff at the Park to take the engagement pictures of one of my dearest friends sister and her husband to be. They brought their dog Dozer too. What a fun couple they were. Joe Blech also accompanied Jeff in the shoot, he is also an amazing photographer and friend of ours. While they were shooting, Kiera , Kate , Alstair and I walked Mill Ave and discovered that there's a NEW Dunkin Donuts there , they even have a make your own coffee station...how cool is that ?! After picking up the guys we went to their favorite breakfast place called "Crackers & Co." one word "delicous" ! I had the blintzes and Jeff had the California Egg's Benedict.

Monday morning we decided to use our culture passes to go to the "phoenix zoo". I had never been there before and Jeff hasn't been in many years. We had lots of fun, but it was oh so hot. Zoo opened at 7am and closes at 2pm during the summer, so we got there around 7:30am...whew it was about 97 plus the whole time we were there, but the little kiddie water exibit was refreshing and Alistair had a great time, as you can see in the pictures ! This weekend also marks the moment Alistair learned how to take off his own diaper while "taking a Nap" in his crib. When we found him , it was removed and toss to the side....oh jeez :) Alistair also learned to get from the on the tummy to a sitting up postion on the floor....I was amazed at his strength, such a big boy

A Big Bang start to our Weekend , taking pictures of the Lightning our Monsoon brought us

Standing on a mountain peak taking these pics....without Alistair :)

Dropping Daddy off for the "Corrigan Engagement " Phootshoot at the Tempe Lake Park

Daddy and Alistair Model Poses

Our Model Poses

Being Silly

This one's for you Dmoney ! Say Hi to DOZER

PHOENIX ZOO !!

Mr. & Mrs. Lion taking a nap under the trees

Momma lion looking for something good to eat

Daddy and Alistair with BIG smiles at the Zoo
One little monkey sitting in a tree , teasing Mister Aligator "can't catch me"

Hungry Giraffe waiting for Breakfast

Got my Denver Zoo hat on in the Phoenix Zoo

Mommy and Alistair being funny with our Meerkat and Giraffe masks on

As I typed this blog , I sat here and listened to Augustana.."Can't Love , Can't Hurt", a new group for me and also the name of my Sister's new Horse. Pretty Good Band in my opinion :) Bremen

Birthday at Pizza Bianco

For Ms. Deon's birthday we picked Pizza Bianco's and what a good choice that was too. We have been friends since I moved here from Florida so many years ago and have remained so close even though we are miles apart in the state. We love to try different places and choosing Bianco's was a great success. If you ever plan on visiting , get to the parking lot by 3:30pm , the lot to park opens at 4pm and there were already car waiting to PARK. The Bianco bar opens at 4pm, so order a drink and take it next door to the closed doors of the resturant and then wait an hour to put your name on the list to be seated at 5Pm....its quite a chore ,but an amazing result, because the food was incrediable. They really only serve pizza and salad , but I must say its the best I've ever had, even compared to NYC pizza. The resturant is closing August 23rd and reopening in the middle of September for business again. I believe the owners go to Italy for retreat and relaxation. Boy , what a great life :)The Beauitful Birthday girl

Small quaint place that has a load of POWER in the food industry
What's left of our Caprese salad...homemade Mozarella was incrediable

Our pizza choices were the Sonny Boy and the Margherita ...oh yumm

Playing Ball with Daddy

Packed Weekend !

Alistair ready for a big weekend

One of my favorite pictures of the night

An rescued injured Hawk
Game and Fish Dept hosted the Bat , Owl and Hawk Show

10,000 plus bats flying in the AZ night sky

Bats flying out of their tunnel

ELMO !!!!

Sitting on Elmo's lap with had about 3 seconds to snap a picture, because there were about 80 kids there

Even after a short nap he was ready to roll

Checking out the fish at Cabela's

At the Elephant exhibit and the aquarium....the fish were going crazy cause they just got fed

Alistair and I in the Cavern at Cabela's

The sign behind us was not planned ...haha

The Fountains at West Gate

Well it all began Friday night , Jeff and I wanted to start the weekend started right with lots of fun. Looking through our AZ Parenting magazine we came across an add for "Bat Watching" , over 10,000 Bats fly through AZ on a nightly basis. We got to see them first hand flying in a 2 1/2 mile tunnel near camelback rd. and 24th St. We invited our good friend Mark and past roomate to come as well. The Dept of Game and Fish were there to show/teach us fun facts about Bats , Hawks and Owls. We got some close ups of the birds, but the bats were way too small and way too fast to capture with the camera. You should had heard the rush of noise the bats caused when they flew past us. Alistair got to see these creatures for the first time :).

Saturday after Jeff got home from work we wanted to take Alistair go and see Elmo at the "Mt Gym " in Scottsdale, unfortunatly Alistair still needed more of a nap and was quite tired, but he managed to allow Elmo to hold him and take his picture with him. Afterwards we headed to Cabela's for a little outdoor/indoor adventure and maybe find a book on some campsites in AZ...yeah well they didn't have any books...oh well. Still got to see the aquarium and the Elephant exhibit there. We ended the night at West Gate and watched the fountains in the plaza and walked around.

Sunday Morning we got up wayyyy too early to head to South Mountain for some sunrise pictures and maybe some breakfast at "The farm at south Mountain" Well the park doesn't open till 5am and we had to wait outside the gate while the sun started to peak its head out. When the gates opened we flew up the mountain to set up the camera for pics...sorry guys I wasn't able to get to the pictures Jeff took yet, so you will have to wait to see them on www.jatart.com 's blog soon.

Oh the Farm on South Mountain was closed until Sept 7th, so we will have to go back then :)

Pretty awesome weekend for not spending any money :) I like that

Alistair on the Move!

Happy boy cooling off in his new pool

Sipping on some pear juice with breakfast...yum yum

Well our "little bean" is getting bigger, 9 month old now . Boy is he suprising us daily with his new "moves". About two afternoons ago I heard this gibber gabber from his room, like he was having a conversation with someone in there and to my horror/Surprise , he was standing in his crib!!!!! He was just standing there playing with his toy MP3 player.

I'm so glad he was standing on his own, but it was a big surprise that we have to lower the crib mattress already . He was also introduced to Sippy Cups this week , he handles them like a pro I must say. He's sipping on grape, pear and apple juice now and loving it. Citrus is another part of his happiness, he can chew on limes and lemons till the sun goes down :), he's got some Florida boy in him yet I guess. Last night Daddy and Alistair watched football together, when it got to his bedtime (7pm) he cried and cried cause he wanted to see who won....I have no idea myself?

This week we are watching Alistair's cousin Jayden again and its nice to have another little babe around.

Daddy brought home a kiddie pool to cool off in and we put it in the porch area (shade) so we could play without getting burnt :)

Dancing with the Davis'

Maybe someday Alistair and Kate will hit the dance floor like Jay and Amie

We were invited last night to go to Jay and Amie's Dance recital. They have been practicing for months and couldn't wait for everyone to watch and see their efforts. we had a ton of fun watching them and honestly they were the best on the dance floor...not being biast at all. This day also marks a year of marriage for them. So Happy Anniversary you guys !

The lady in Red and the Man in Black !

Rocky Mountain Adventures part 2

Grandma and Keegan hiking up the trail
Kelton and his radiant smile
Our Family hiking picture at Red Feather Lake

Kincaid looking awesome

Alistair looking irresistible

Keegan looking cute in the flowers

Kelton found the dirt in seconds

Well our adventures continue when Jeff flew into Denver Saturday night. We woke up early Sunday morning and went to Red Feather with the family. The wind was strong on the lake and we found some great fishing spots for the boys to fish and play in the water. Alistair is enjoying his cousins sooo much. We leave pretty soon so we got to get our Colorado adventures all finished with a big bang!