Soccer Anyone?

Part of the fun of being in Tucson is being able to attend events like this soccer game. I know many of you are soccer players or former soccer players, but these 3 to 5 yr olds play it a little differently. This makes it much more fun for them and for the spectators too.

What's different?

• Smaller playing field.
• Shorter playing time.
• If the ball goes out of bounds, the spectators just roll it back in and the game continues.
• The number of players on the field at any time is of little consequence.
• If (when) the ball is kicked into the goal by the wrong team, everyone still cheers.
• A player may take a break at any time to sit with their mommy.
• No one keeps score.

Here are some pictures of my favorite player, Number 8.


























And a view of the sidelines with the enthusiastic soccer fans.

Paint

After getting some confidence from my painting experiences in Farmington, I decided to try my hand at giving some of these new white walls some color here in Tucson. I have to admit I got some added motivation from seeing now nice the paint in Ryan & Ashley's new house looks.

This is just a start - I'll post more pictures as more colors are added throughout the house.

I forgot to take the "before" picture for the "before and after" comparison, but you can just imagine everything was very very WHITE.

Great room.



































Small bedroom/playroom















Alcove in kitchen and close up.

Cool Car - Comments anyone?

My boys said if I put a picture of a cool car on my blog, they would comment.

The things I have to do . . .


Extra points if you can identify:
1) the name of this car and
2) the starting list price.
Hint: It's a BMW.

High Five!

How to celebrate your 5th Birthday:

Step 1 - Invite all your relatives in Tucson to your BBQ Birthday Party.
Step 2 - Eat hot dogs and hamburgers and other good stuff made by your mom. Don't forget the extra ketchup.














Step 3 - Open presents.
Your little brother will try to take anything that looks like Thomas the Train, so watch out!












Step 4 - Smile contest with Ryan & Ashley.
Apparently they know you like Thomas the Train!

















Step 5 - Show everyone how old you are.
At this age, it's similar to doing a High Five.












Step 6 - Show off the fabulous Train cake made by your mom.














Step 7 - Pose for the obligatory picture with the whole family - including little brother and baby sister.



















Step 8 - Light the candles and make a wish.
Wishing for more trains??





















Step 9 - Blow out the candles.
Notice little brother has now confiscated the Thomas train.













Step 10 - Let them eat cake!!

Mother's Day

What a nice Mother's Day!

Thanks Ryan & Ashley for hosting and all the great food, super delicious ice cream cake and beautiful flowers.
Thanks Kevin & Caroline for the fun game and making the cookies. Thanks kids for the great drawings for Yaya!


































Great food, incredible ice cream cake, fun games, adorable kids!



We missed those who couldn't be here.
See you soon!

An idea to fix the economy?

I saw this on the internet and had to pass it along. This was proposed in response to a Newspaper's request for ideas on how to fix the economy.

Dear Mr. President:

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America’s economy.

Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.

You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan.

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.

Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the 3 following stipulations:

1) They have to RETIRE.

Forty million job openings.

Unemployment fixed.

2) They have to buy a new American CAR.

Forty million cars ordered.

Auto Industry fixed.


3) They have to either BUY A HOUSE or PAY OFF THEIR MORTGAGE.

Housing Crisis fixed - Bank Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that!

Blooming in Tucson

It seems I may not have missed the Spring in Tucson after all. Things here are blooming and though the colors are subtle as compared to all the tulips and blossoming trees in Utah this time of year, it's nice to see the desert in bloom.

































Also, it seems housing here may be picking up. When I first came here last fall, the subdivision a bit south of ours had a sign that said "Only 11 left". This is a different builder with houses and lots smaller than ours. With the real estate downturn, I wondered how long it would take for the number on the sign to be reduced. While walking this week, I saw 3 houses in that subdivision under construction and was pleasantly surprised that they had revised the sign to say "Only 2 left". See photo below.





However, they also revised the prices - lower of course. Maybe things are picking up in the Tucson real estate market, which would be a good sign for the economy.

Top Ten

How many fun things are there to do in Utah with 4 kids under the age of 5?

Here are the Top Ten things we did while Suzy and baby, and Kevin and family were visiting.

1. Planetarium - including a walk on Mars and a walk through the Gateway. The tulips are great this time of year.

























2. Temple Square - including a ride on Trax and the always fun activity of jumping.
































3. Aquarium - including a chance to touch the rays and other fish, and Suzy and 4 yr old discussing the turtles and alligators. (Thank you Evan for the tickets.)





































4. Kennecot Mine - Big holes in the earth and REALLY big trucks are always interesting.
5. Walk the Lagoon trail and see Buffalo, Elk, and Roller Coasters.
6. Play at the Cemetery playground in Farmington - the new orange slides are super fun.














7. Bountiful pool playground
If you live anywhere near Bountiful, the new pool is great for pre-school age kids.














8. A ride on the FrontRunner train up to Ogden - including a visit to the Ogden train museum. Can you tell these kids love trains?

























Yaya and boys drive the steam engine.













9. Shake the cherry tree blossoms off the tree to make "snow."
10. Watch Suzy and Kevin battle to see who can win the most games of Hearts. (It seems the good natured sibling rivalry never ends. )

Cute kids!

It has been so fun to have Suzy and baby Claire, and Kevin and family visit here in Utah.
Suzy went back to Massachusetts on Wednesday. Kevin and family will be here until Sunday.
Here are some pictures of the cute kids!

All four dressed up in Sunday best.













2 yr old sitting in the same high chair once used by his dad.










4 yr old so excited to see the fish at the aquarium.









8 month old sitting up and playing with toys.










2 months old with a message on her feet.









While they were all here, we had a fun family get-together for all the extended family in Utah. Thanks to all of you who came and we missed those who live too far away. I took some pictures of the party, but somehow none of them were very good. For pictures of the event, see Joanna's blog. (Thanks Joey!!)

I gave my camera to the 4 yrold and he took some interesting pictures, including this self-portrait I just have to share.














More pictures of the some of this week's activities coming in future blogs.