Lovin' the Dress Up

This is the new big thing at our house. Logan, Chase and Reagan are really into dressing up right now. At minimum, they are wearing some kind of hat around the house.

AHH!

Reagan and Chase's 2nd Birthday!!!

I feel so old saying "How time has flown!" It really is true though. I can't believe they are two-years-old! They were just babies!

Reagan loves her birthday hat and was trying to keep it on all day, but it kept falling off and frustrating her. Even weeks after their birthday she was still asking for her "Bir-day hat."

Reagan and Chase got up and had their birthday breakfast (a waffle with and candle in it). Then we went into the front room to open presents before Blake went to work. (Bristle blocks were a HUGE hit Brenna.)

We went to Peter Piper Pizza that night with some friends to celebrate. Reagan and Chase stayed on the token car and motorcycle pretty much the entire time. They occasionally switched places, but that was as far as it went.

They had an "Over the Hedge" birthday cupcake cake. We had a great time.

Pima Air and Space Museum

In August we went to the Pima Air and Space Museum. The kids had an absolute blast! They were running everywhere yelling "Airplane!" Airplanes are their favorite things in the world at the moment and they can't get enough of them.



You might notice Logan and Chase got their hair buzzed. We were tired of the emotional trauma (or drama, whichever you prefer) Logan had whenever we cut his hair so we just buzzed it. After we were done, Logan looked in the mirror and started crying saying "I want my hair back!" I told him he could grow more hair and he seemed satisfied with that.

The Pima Air and Space Museum is the second largest air museum in the country. (The largest is in Dayton, Ohio and the third largest is at Hill AFB.)





















They had a lot of displays that the kids could climb and play on, which is a relief for us!

There is even a control tower, where the kids can talk to an play airplane close by.

Reagan and her private drama.

This is an old Air Force One used by JFK. Don't they look presidential?

I thought this was funny. Notice the dates it was in service. 1945-2005. Incredible.














The Space Museum portion was dedicated to the space shuttle Challenger and had hands-on learning for the kids.

First Visit to Tuscon

The kids and I out in the courtyard of the International Wildlife Museum.

In and out of the ferret hole.

We didn't have anything to do yesterday, except sit in our little room all together, so we went to Tuscon to visit a few things on our LONG list. Tuscon is about an hour and ten minutes away, but as soon as we got into the car Logan was asking "Mommy, are we fair (there) yet?". I don't know where he came up with that. Probably all the TV we have been watching lately.

We started at the International Wildlife Museum. The kids had a great time. It was nice going to a museum that Blake and I could enjoy and the kids could touch and experience much of what was on display. The kids ran around, pointing and "oohing" and "aahing". Reagan would point at everything and yell "animal!" and Chase was constantly doing his happy dance (picture Bill Cosby doing a jig and you'd have it about right). I need to get that recorded and put on here. They had a lot of fun.

We get to pet the lion!

It's gonna bite me!

"Look Mommy! ANIMAL!"

This tiger is huge!

At the Tuscon Children's Museum

The next place we went was the Tuscon Children's Museum. That was a big hit too. They had fire engine and a police motorcycle with all the lights and sirens, a dinosaur display, a rain forest climbing area, play doctor, dentist, and kitchen areas. They even had an art studio, the Mars experience, music room and multiple model trains that you could control (a BIG hit with Logan). It was the kids' dream come true. As soon as we left, they we asking when they could go back.

Chase "caught" doing puzzles.

The train models were controlled by buttons. Logan spent over an hour just pushing the buttons.

Evidence of a day well spent.

Tomorrow, we are out of our one room and into a house! I am so happy, you could even say that I am giddy! All our stuff will be delivered on Monday! Yeah! See you soon!

What To See in Arizona

Here is what I said I would post for those who are thinking of visiting. We have been pleasantly surprised at the number of things to do around southern Arizona. Here are some links that all of you can check out if planning to visit.

www.visittucson.org

http://www.tucsonazhomes.com/tucsonguide-2a.html

The link to Tombstone: http://www.tombstone.org/index.html?ur.html&1

Bisbee is a pretty artsy community now: http://bisbeearizona.com/content/

The International Wildlife Museum: http://www.thewildlifemuseum.org/

The Pima Air and Space Museum has the Challenger Space Center and tours of the famous "Boneyard" http://www.pimaair.org

This is a often used movie studio that has shows and an interactive western environment http://www.oldtuscon.com

I really want to see this since we didn't go on our vacation down the PCH and see all the missions: http://www.sanxaviermission.org

We definitely are going here too since Arizona has some of the best sky-watching in the world: http://www.noao.edu/kpno/

For the kiddos: http://www.tucsonchildrensmuseum.org/

We have caves, aquatic centers, mine tours and other stuff that I didn't list here, but this is a good start.

Happy Hunting!

Time in the park and watching movies.

As I have stated before, we spend most of our free time at the local parks. Here is some footage of Reagan and Chase on the swings.

When we aren't in the park, we are stuck in a small room together. Needless to say, we watch a lot of movies. A Bug's Life is the movie of choice at the moment. Reagan even watched it right after getting bitten by a host of red ants. When they are tired after playing hard, we come home, take a bath, get into some pjs and the twins get into our bed and settle themselves down under the covers (completely on their own). It is really funny.

Is this Arizona?

These pictures are from the observation point/picnic area on base as an afternoon storm was rolling in. Is it what you pictured Arizona to look like? Not me.










This is the housing on Fort Huachuca. Amazing surroundings. Although they do have quite a problem with rattlesnakes and scorpions. (We are not living on base.)

Fort Huachuca is bordered on one side by mountains (what they call mountains, but Utahans know better). We were told it was quite pretty and temperate compared with the rest of Arizona, but we were blown away with how lovely the area really is. Sierra Vista, Tombstone, Bisbee and Fort Huachuca are much greener than expected. There are rolling hills everywhere. This time of year is the rainy season and every night we get spectacular thunderstorms. It is often cloudy and when the clouds cover the sun, the weather is just perfect. We stay out in the parks every morning and evening. Although the bugs are a different story. Reagan has already been attacked by large red ants that have bit her feet and little legs. (She was beside herself for several hours.) You can't seem to avoid all the ants... they are LITERALLY EVERYWHERE! The playgrounds are infested with them.