When Maysa is unusually quiet..........

For the past 2 weeks Maysa has been trying desperately to get a hold of a pair of scizzors so she can chop her hair off. We have been trimming bangs alot lately and I think thats where she got the idea. So we have had to hide every pair of scizzors in high and unreachable places. The other morning I trimmed Elena's bangs before school and then we had to run out the door because we were going to be late. So I put the scizzors in the bathroom mirror and forgot about them. A couple days later......

I was scrubbing toilets upstairs when Maysa left me for a few minutes. I thought she just went downstairs to keep watching Caillou. Well I went to check on her after I was done and found her standing in the bathroom sink with all of her bangs chopped right off . She was going strong until I frantically grabbed the scizzors from her. She looked at me and said "I cut my hair Mom". I felt like laughing, crying and getting mad all at the same time. So I just said- now you look like a boy Maysa! She seemed to like that. That was kind of mean .

It has always been a tortuously painful lesson for me to remember that Maysa should NEVER be left alone. In the past few months she has accomplished oh so much- (I never take pictures, I should start)

-permanent lipstick on the carpet and all over her face and hair- 1/2 hr before church

-black mascara all over the carpets and walls of my master bedroom

-every single last glass in our house she has purposely thrown on the floor because she loves to watch it smash on the tile

-soap, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, you name it, she loves to smear it all over the wall, her hair and body and it often ends up in her eyes. Diaper cream is one of her personal favorites

-she loves dumping anything in a box all over the floor; cheerios, chocolate milk mix, flour, sugar, the salt shakers are definetly the funnest.

- well the list could go on forever but I suppose this could be typical 2 yr old behavior, so curious and vying for attention in our crazy busy body family.

Nothing New

We are slowly going mental......
make that quickly ............
Nothing new to report about our house. Still the same old story, maybe next week, maybe next week. Having irritating troubles finalizing our loans and getting the mortgage set up. We think the sellers may have gone haywire and decided to give up on us. They got so tired of us pushing the date, they decided to stop all communications. SO still waiting on word if and when we'll get the keys. Until then we continue sweet talking our landlords into letting us stay for one more week, then another week, then another week. Buying a house is just a big ball of anxiety, good thing this is the last time I'll ever move ! Right Dan.....

Other than that, the kids are off to a great start at their new school- Desert Willow. Lots of church friends there and nice teachers. Elena will be transferred to a new class because her first class grew too big. Now she has a teacher with a name that is impossible to actually say out loud. Mrs. Schmidt, I seriously can't say it, I mess up every time. Oh well, they are quite happy and that is all that matters. Sierra is thrilled to finally see and play with Kamryn every day and is quite busy making more new friends as well. She has already come home with 2 red days for being too much of a social bug. She says to me " I just talk too much". Suprise suprise.

Maysa has finally discovered how to jump out of her crib so it seems my freedom and glory days are over. She refuses to nap and has become more hyper every night now that she knows she has an out. She often jumps into bed with me in the middle of the night. Then I get to suffer head blows and body slams till the wee hours of the morning. I had no idea she moves around so much in her sleep. Potty training is still lurking and laughing at me but the promise of "when we move" often fills in the guiltier parts of my brain.

Oh well, I can laugh at my troubles because I know they are small. We are blessed beyond measure and every day I smile and think about how lucky we are to be living here in this beautiful place with good health, good friends and great weather! Maybe I'm just a little mental. :) :) !!

Blasting the heat...

It has been hard to adjust to the high temperatures and bright shiny sun since we've returned from lovely 75 degree Alberta. We have been having ree-diculous issues with closing and underwriters for our new house so we've been mostly staying in and going mental waiting for a grand ultimatum. They have asked us for documents we've given them 3 or 4 times, tax papers that don't even exist, every bank transaction we have EVER done, rental and work references from 1990, what color are hair is, when we used the washroom last....

just kidding.

It is seriously getting so absurd we wonder if the company is actually legit. NEVER will we go through a mortgage broker again!!! Buying a house in Canada was a hop, skip and a whistle compared to this. YES I know the mortgage crisis, economy failure, fall of America the great as we know it, blah, blah, blah, JUST GIVE ME MY HOUSE!! We'll let you know in 2025 when the bank decides to close and we're all moved in.

rant rant rant

So on a more positive note, when you can't beat the heat, you grin and you bare it and you make the most of it. I'm talking about the desert where we have chosen our permanent home. I have heard alot of complaints about the heat in the valley and HOW can we stand it, especially being Canadian!! Dan and I will tell you honestly and truthfully we don't mind the heat. Today the kids and I were outside all day at the Phoenix zoo.

Most of you already know these things and I don't want to sound like a know it all but I wanted to post some tips and things that we do to still have fun on a family outing in the great outdoors during the wicked hot summer months. (Since I can't stand being holed up in my house).

-Everyone wears a hat, including the adults. A hat will keep you at least 50 percent cooler, protect you from headaches, sunstroke and face burn. Try to wear a hat that covers the entire top of your head and has a brim for shade.

-Take a cooler full of more than enough ice water for the entire family for the entire day. We cart it around in a stroller, but I have seen coolers with wheels. It is essential that it is water, not pop or juice and COLD, my kids won't drink as much it if its warm. DRINK LOTS AND LOTS!

-wear light airy clothes and put sunscreen on everybody

-don't eat sugary foods, combined with the heat sugary foods will bring you down, you will feel sluggish and tired and want to go home by 2pm, instead pack trail mix, ham and cheese sandwiches, chips, fruit and veggies.

-its always more fun for the kids to plan your activities near a spray park or water structure. If they can hose themselves off they will complain less and have more energy for other activities. We don't always do this.

-now for a nasty little secret, SHUSH don't tell. This totally contradicts my no sugar, no pop rules but sometimes if I like a little boost of energy during the middle of a hot day I will drink a pepsi max. Maybe I'll go to hell in a handcart for it... But it works like a charm!

The reason I posted these ideas is because we are a family that loves the outdoors. We have ventured out to alot of different places in southern Arizona even in the middle of the summer. There are oooodles of places here we still need to visit and really look forward to the new experiences. Here are a couple of pictures of us at the Phoenix zoo where we literally spent the entire day... and it was a blast!

This little birdy joined us for our picnic lunch, the girls felt real sorry for it cause if you look real close you will see that it only has one leg.

Some of the great things I love about phoenix zoo in the middle of summer:

-kids under 12 are free!

-there are misters under alot of the exhibits

-there is tons of shade

-not as crowded as winter months

-the two awesome splash pads!

Hot and Home Again

We got home yesterday after a long plane ride and walk across the border. Dan's little bro forgot to bring his passport to Vancouver so he had to drop us off at the border. We walked across at 6am with the little girls carrying their own suitcases practically falling asleep. Then we walked to the duty free shop and waited for our 50 dollar taxi ride to the airport. Then we waited at the airport for 2.5 hours for our flight. No fast food restaurants within walking so we had to buy breakfast there which cost us $25. The plane ride home was 3 hours and very stuffy, very cramped and lots of crying babies, including ours. People were complaining and the little girl in front of me threw up all over. The smell was unbearable. We got to the Mesa airport at 2pm and just about fainted from the heat. After being in Canada for a month it is a shocker to suddenly step into 115 degrees. So we're home again and hot again, but thank heavens for A/C which we have cranked full blast right now. Lots to do this week including move into a new house that we just bought! Exciting and very busy busy busy.... I miss you Canada, definetly I'll be back next July but probably for a little longer.