spring break!...or bust...

i was so excited for ella's spring break -  we planned dinners with friends, pizza-making playdates, zoo outings, sleepovers...  and we were ALL sick.  :-(  so we spent most of spring break stuck in the house together.

happy belated saint patrick's day from ella and max!!

poor max.  nobody felt great all week.  they both took it pretty well though!

by thursday afternoon, ella, at least, was on the mend, so she packed herself for her first ever sleepover at gigi and poppie's house!!

as you can see, max's bob-o goes everywhere with him now.  it's really sweet.

max showing off his jake and the neverland pirate pj's!

ella had a great time at her sleepover - thanks mom and dad!

just roll with it

these two pics were from when els and roger went to the U of A basketball game with jack and colin. we asked the boys to take some pics of the kiddos...specifically at the game...perhaps with the mascots.  yup, and this is what we got.  :-(

just keeping busy this week - i forgot to mention that we had max's 2 year check-up last week and he's doing great!  growing well - almost 34 inches and weighing 26 pounds (although when i'm holding him in one arm and he's squirming like crazy, he feels a heck of a lot heavier!).  

i took the above pic of els and george who took a nap together monday afternoon.  :-)

yesterday, max and i joined josie and jenny on running a few errands - they had a great time together as always.  

they even scored free rolls from the bakery!

the past few weeks, ella's preschool class has been learning about things that roll and things that fly.  she's come home with some pretty cool crafts that she has made.  here are a few pics from her teacher:

stepping on the rocket launchers.  this also entertained roger for about 20 minutes after dinner tonight..  haha

reach 4 the sky/2 infinity and beyond!

so the above title was on our invitations for ella and max's toy story-themed joint birthday party which was held yesterday.  such an amazing time!!  we went to peter piper pizza this year, loving the built in entertainment and provision of food.  :-)

ella and max ready for their party to start!!

favor bags (including bouncy balls and army men!) and star-shaped iced sugar cookies that roger helped to make.

gigi made an ADORABLE tutu and tiara for els.  unfortunately, she was so proud of the outfit that she had previously put together, that she changed back.  :-(  thanks anyway mom!!  they were amazing!

roger and i also made alien cupcakes.  so fun!!

max and ella got to make their own little pizzas!

we had fabulous friends and family around us to celebrate - mom, dad, auntie elaine, uncle norm the great; then their friends jack, josie, evelyn, everett, caleb, katelyn, alora and charlotte and their families.  we also invited ella's friends from preschool.  :-)

ella and her friend, melissa.  she has been telling us for months that melissa was going to come to her birthday party and buy her a pony set.  sure enough, she received a my little pony toy from melissa - i can only wonder how these conversations transpired...  ;-)

oh, my kid who eats salsa on quesadilla night.  or just guacamole.  or ketchup.  what did he eat at the pizza place?  croutons.  2 packages of them...

some birthday love from josie!

ella and her BFF, evelyn who will turn 4 a week after ella!

time for the cupcakes!!

the best peter piper ever - it has a carousel and mini roller coaster!

another one of her little friends from preschool - ashlynn

they each got a t-shirt for all of their friends to sign.

daddy and els ready to ride the roller coaster!

max was super excited about his cookie.  :-)

happy birthday ella and max!!  love you both so incredibly much and we loved planning this party for you - hope you had a blast!!!  we're so thankful for all of our friends and family.  thank you to auntie elaine and mom for all of your help!  and a huge thank you to auntie elaine for being our photog as always!!  :-)

swingin' in the rain/house of rock

so every couple of months, there is a contest for a free spot in an amazing photography workshop.  didn't win, but i am so happy i entered this round and captured this shot of els and george (the submission had to be a person with a 'furry friend').

we had a pretty relaxing weekend - saturday it rained.  yes, i'm complaining about rain.  and it was a little chilly...

it clearly didn't bother ella and her friend, alora, too much at a birthday party because they hung out on the swings in the pouring rain.

trying to get warm and dry.

saturday night, my parents came over to stay with the kiddos so roger and i could go our for our delayed valentine's day dinner.  thanks mom and dad!!

the double rainbow we saw on our way to dinner!

cheers, babe!!  we've been together for 9 years - best almost-decade of my life!!  

sunday night, roger and ella joined our friend colin and ella's buddy, jack, at the final arizona basketball home game of the season.  even though she thought she was watching football the entire time and had a meltdown right before because she only wanted to wear a ginormous pink frilly tutu, she had an awesome time with daddy!!

today, we went to the zoo.  thank goodness hardly anyone was there, because i'm pretty sure you could hear our group throughout the whole zoo.  11 kiddos under the age of 4 on the loose.  seriously.  crazy.  

when we got home, i forgot i burned something in the oven yesterday, and proceeded to re-burn it today, filling the house with smoke.  :-(  it really is for the safety of all involved that i refrain from cooking...  anyway, we moved lunch to the patio and played in the backyard for a while before much-needed naps.

max throwing fistfuls of rocks into his house.