Arizona Museum of Natural History

Thanks to Free Museum Day, we had a chance to check out the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
I’ve lived all my life (minus a three year stint in Ohio) and I’ve never been to this museum.
After Riker spent most of the day yesterday pretending to be a dinosaur, I knew this museum was a perfect choice.

Of course, we didn’t learn too much at the museum…
Riker was non-stop and just wanted to run from one exhibit to the next.
We saw dinosaurs, Native American artifacts, Spanish armor, and even had a chance to pan for gold and dig up some dinosaur bones!
All in all, a great day!

Gilbert Constitution Fair

This week was Constitution Week in Gilbert, celebrating the US Constitution.
TJ volunteered at the fair, teaching people about the Boston Tea Party, boston massacre, Paul revere, and the battle at bunker hill, and was given a fabulous outfit to wear!

Complete with a wig!
Riker thought it was so silly that daddy had long hair like mommy!

While TJ was talking to all the people, Riker, Olivia, and I got to explore the fair.
There were several booths set up with kid games…Riker’s favorite was “fishing”. We visited this booth a LOT!

And no fair is complete without getting your face painted.
Riker was a little unsure at first…

But he was so excited to have a flag on his cheek.
It, of course, did not last too long before he smeared it all over. But since it was on his cheek, he was oblivious to the mess.

Every time Riker got a cool prize at one of the booths, we headed back over to TJ’s area to show it to him.
TJ was usually surrounded by a crowd of people, listening to his spiel about history…his throat is pretty sore!

One of Riker’s favorite parts of the fair was seeing the old helicopter.
He was able to wear a helmet and hold a real (completely NOT loaded!) gun.

This kid was seriously in heaven all night long.
Being able to run around, eat a million tootsie rolls, and get a balloon sword is pretty much his idea of a perfect evening!

Plus, he got tattoos!
I’m sure I will regret putting these on him tomorrow morning when it’s time to go to church…but his smile kind of makes it worth it.

Overall, our time at the Constitution Fair was a blast.
TJ loved getting to talk about history all night and Riker loved playing outside all night!

Oh, and Olivia was there too.
She was ready for a nap the moment we got to the fair…so she just kind of zoned out in the stroller all night.
She was content to just be outside, watching riker run around, and chewing on her sippy cup (because drinking out of a sippy cup is for suckers!).
but here’s a photo to prove that she was there:

Conversations with a 2-Year old

(After a quick stop at Sonic for a much needed Vanilla Diet Coke)
Riker: Mom, Jesus doesn’t want us to drink soda.
Lisa: Well, its okay for mommies and daddies to drink soda sometimes.
Riker: No, Jesus doesn’t want us to drink soda and we have to OBEY him!

(We literally have this conversation every time I turn right at a red light)
Riker: Mom! Red means stop! You have to stop!
Lisa: Its okay, Riker…sometimes its okay to go when the light is red.
Riker: NO! Red means stop, green means go!

(every time I try to get Riker to eat his carrots at dinner)
Riker: Carrots are for bunnies. I’m not a bunny, I’m a big boy!

Date Knight

Once upon a time, I had one kid…Just Riker.
And when it was just me and Riker, we had all sorts of fun together. Lots of mother-son bonding time because there was no one else I needed to share my attention.
But then one day, Olivia showed up and started demanding some of that attention (which I happily give her because she’s so darn cute!).
And for the last 9 months, all of our activities and adventures and fun have included mom and Riker and Olivia…And for the last 9 months, Riker and I have had almost zero mommy-son bonding time.
Sure, we have moments here and there when Olivia is napping that the two of us can play together…but I wanted more. so When a friend told me about Chick-Fil-A’s Mother/Son “Date Knight”, I immediately signed up.

So tonight, we got ready to go on a date with just Mommy and Riker.

I wasn’t sure what to expect since I’d never been to one of Chick-Fil-A’s events, but I was amazed at all the effort they put into the evening.
The theme was “Date Knight” so the whole restaurant was decorated like a medieval castle.

We colored shields and talked about dragons and knights and rescuing princesses while we munched on our chicken nuggets.
(and seriously, I heart the nugs at CFA…so good)

All of the employees were dressed as knights and maidens.
And there was a juggler (wearing extremely tight spandex pants!)…he juggled balls, glowing sticks, and even FIRE!

What amazed me the most was the pony rides out in the parking lot!
Riker was pretty nervous on his first ride…after walking around the circle only halfway, he told me he was done!

But after playing in the play place with friends for a while, he was ready to go ride the horse again.
All fear was gone and he went for 2 more rides (and wanted to go more!).

So a huge thank you to Chick-Fil-A for providing such a wonderful family event.
It was so fun to get to hang out with my little buddy again, without having to hold/wrestle/bounce/rock/feed/soothe an active baby sister!
(I forgot how easy just one kid could be!)

Whoever Invented Splash Pads Is A Genius

We went to the splash pad yesterday.
And it made me wonder…
”Why don’t we go to the splash pad every day?”

Olivia loves to crawl around and get splashed by the water.
Riker loves running around, sticking his face in the fountains, and playing with friends.
and I get to sit in the shade, sipping a DC, watching my kiddos happily play.
I think my new goal will be to see how many times we can visit the splash pad before it cools down
(and since we live in AZ, I still have at least another month!)
so if you want to meet up at the splash pad, just let me know!

9 Months

Happy 9 months to my baby girl!
I know I’ve said this before but I’m gonna say it again…
she is the happiest little baby in the entire world.

Facts and tidbits about Olivia at 9 months:
*4 teeth, working on a fifth right now.
*walks along furniture and will push her walker around, but too chicken to stand up on her own
*very vocal, constantly making noises, but no real words yet
*eating stage 3 foods, but prefers to eat whatever I’m trying to eat
*bounces/dances when she’s happy, especially first thing in the morning when I get her out of her crib
*her favorite toy is whatever Riker is playing with
*she loves to be active and moving around…which means she hates diaper changes, sitting in her car seat, or being held for long periods of time.

I love all 18 pounds 10 ounces of this squishy bug!