Disney on Ice

 

This past weekend we took Everly to her second time seeing Disney on Ice. This show was called Rockin' Ever After and was all about Disney Princesses. At every Disney on Ice Show Mickey and his buddies come out for a little bit so it was fun to see them too. Everly pretty much loved it. The four Disney movies they featured were The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Brave, and Tangled. Everly is not too familiar with Tangled but she absolutely loves the other 3 movies so it was a lot of fun. My mom got us the tickets for Christmas and then she also gave Everly money to get a toy. Everly got a Mrs. Pots (from Beauty and the Beast) piggy bank and loves it as she has recently become obsessed with coins. I can't wait till we can take her again (which could be as early as April)!

Ariel did some crazy Cirque du Soleil-ish acrobat routine that was crazy!

Her teapot piggy bank

 

 

 

Some of the props were really neat like this chandelier
from Beauty and the Beast and the lanterns from Tangled.

Shamrock Farms Tour

 

Back in December we took a holiday tour of Shamrock Farms right before Christmas. If you live in Phoenix, I highly recommend it. It is past Maricopa, so for us it took about and hour and 15 minutes to get there but if you live in the east valley it probably isn't nearly as bad. Kids or no kids, it was really cool. It is so fascinating to see how massive a production it is and how much milk they produce on a daily basis. This tour was a special Christmas tour so they had Santa there and some other fun games and Christmas crafts, but the actual 45 minute tour is always the same. You ride out on a little cart and make several trips along the tour. It can be cold when you are on the cart and it is moving so dress appropriately. Since it was a special Christmas tour they had some snow to play in outside when you arrived.

As much as I love to pretend this was all my idea, obviously it was my sister's idea. We tagged along on her trip and my mom came too. My sister had previously taken her students on this tour as a field trip so she knew how much fun it would be.



My nephews are the cutest, right?







 

The first stop was a little playground outside of the building where we later got to view the milking process.
 





I don't think that this picture conveys just how insanely huge and beastly these cows are. It is so crazy to see such a big animal so close (obviously I did not grow up on a farm).

 

We got back on the cart and rode around the farm and through where the cows eat. There are sooo many cows. They showed us where the "organic" cows are kept as well as all of the different stages the cows go through on the farm from being a baby to having a baby and to "retiring". We also got to stop and feed some baby cows. They were a little jumpy.





 

 

 

 

We ended up having to rush out of their at the end because I had to make it to my soccer game but it was really fun and I can't wait to go back again (also, you get chocolate milk when you finish the tour, so that's awesome)!



Shutterfly Photo Books: Norris Family Reunion and Disneyland

Two of our big trips for 2013 were a trip to New York in June for a family reunion with my mom's family and a trip to Disneyland in October for Everly's second birthday. It is no secret that I love making Shutterfly photo books to preserve our memories and do something with the hundred's of pictures I always end up taking.

Here is our photo book from the family reunion:

 

Click here to view this photo book larger





 

With the Disney photo book I used their new pocket feature so that I would have a place for all of our saved tickets and fast passes. I really like this feature.

Here is the Disney photo book:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Everly's Two Year Photos

I am not going to go back through the past year and post everything I missed, but I am going to put up a few more recent things. Back in September we had pictures taken by Lexy Popa Photography (who I used to play club soccer with when I was in High School) for Everly turning two and also for family pictures. They turned out amazing, especially considering we were working with a two-year old who doesn't want her picture taken. We took the pictures at The Grove Church in Chandler, which was far, but definitely worth it. We loved them and used them on our Christmas cards!

Here are some of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm Back

So I haven't blogged in the past year, but I am going to try to start up again. When I made Everly's "One-Year" photo album, having this blog to look back at was awesome and so I don't want to lose that. I had some trouble with hosting my photos and then I got busy, but I think I fixed that issue now so I am going to try and blog again...so here goes!

Santa Pictures

This past weekend we set out to get pictures with Santa as Christmas is only a week away and my sister is due TODAY with her second baby! We knew this was our last chance so we headed to Paradise Valley Mall (not going there again next year). Oddly, there was no line to take your picture with Santa, but a large line to pay for the picture. We probably could have gotten a decent picture if the guy would have taken it right away but who knows what he was doing. Well, 30 seconds later Everly starts crying and wants nothing to do with Santa. Cameron just got happier and happier and was laughing and clapping. Joy. Also, after we got to the front of the long line to pay this rude cashier asked which one we wanted printed. I picked the last one becuase she wasn't crying and she gave me this disgusted look and said, "You want that one? She is not even looking at the camera." Seriously lady, WHO ARE YOU? I was like, um its the only one she is not crying in, so yea, I want that one. Way to kill the Christmas Spirit lady.

Here are the pictures:

Hot Chocolate 15k

As part of me trying to get healthy and lose weight I never should have gained, I signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15k. Of course, if I was going to run 9.3 miles, there would definitely be chocolate at the end! When I signed up back in October, I had not run more than a 5k, ever! I used the Hal Higdon 15k Novice Training Plan to get prepared for it and also had the help of two of my sisters joining me on the longer runs. They also ran the 15k as well. Last Sunday morning we got up early and headed out to Scottsdale for the run.

 

 

It was the coldest morning we have had yet this winter, but shortly after we started the run, we warmed up. I ran with my sisters for the first 2 miles and then they moved ahead as they run faster than me. I personally ran faster than I have before. The Saturday before when I ran my 8-miler, I ran a 10'14" pace so to do 9.24 miles at a  9'41" pace was really exciting for me. Back in July I weighed over 200 lbs. (yikes!) and when I started to run with the C25k program my pace was like 11'30"! I am now more than 30 lbs. lighter! Crazy how far I have come in 6 months. Also, look at how many calories that burned! 1208 is insane! I got my brooks running shoes back in July as well and have already logged atleast 124 miles in them!

 

I know that there are lots of people who run more than that, and faster, but for me this is a big deal, and I am proud of myself. I almost got choked up when I crossed the finish line becauase I was just so overwhelmed with emotions. I have never set such a huge goal for myself physically, so to meet that was just really big for me. And also, just before the finish line my mom was holding Everly and cheering me on, so yay, you can understand why I almost cried.

 

 

 

After the run we got our finisher's mug filled with hot chocolate, chocolate fondue and lots of stuff to dip in the chocolate. It was delicious, but we didn't have much time becuase I had a soccer game in an hour. Yay, I know, crazy, but we would have been short players if my sister and I hadn't gone. We tied the soccer game 1-1 and I scored the goal, but we really should have won. Oh well. The rest of the day was pretty busy, but I did get a pedicure and I used my sister's foam roller to massage out my leg mussels last night and I think it is paying off because I am not too sore today! I am not quite sure what is next on the fitness agenda, but I definitely have more to achieve!

 

US Women's Soccer Game

This past weekend we were able to see the Olympic Gold Medalist U.S. Women's National Soccer Team play the Republic of Ireland. It used to be pretty rare for them to come to Arizona becuase we don't have a professional soccer team, however, they were here last year in November as well. You can read about our time at the game last year, here. Everly was so tiny last year. This year she was able to enjoy it much more. A few of the girls I play with on my women's soccer team went as well and we met up for beers in the Cardinals Stadium parking lot before the game. Everly had a lot of fun and I am glad we went and am grateful that we are able to take her to events like this...although next year I am totally scalping my tickets! So much cheaper! Here are some pics from the night:

My new favorite picture of us!




So into it.



Feeding mama cheerios.



Goofball



Iphone Panorama



Gymboree Play and Learn Class

On Saturday morning (after my 8 mile run!) my sister and I took the babies to a Gymboree Play and Learn Class. You can try one out for free and you know I love free stuff so we decided to go. When we got there the class was just starting so we jumped in a circle around the mats with quite a few other parents and babies. That was definitely my first impression of the class...it was pretty full. As soon as the instructor started singing, I thought my 9 month pregnant sister was going to murder me. That lady was singing like she was in an opera. It was soooo loud. It was a bit much. After a little introduction the babies worked on walking over different structures. Everly and Cameron both seemed a little overwhelmed in the beginning but they did good, and we both knew that these activities were good for their development.  

 



 

Walking up the ramp together

BFFS for Life

 

Next they played with some stimulating toys and noisemakers. Cam jumped right in without hesitation. He loves making noise. I'm suprised he didn't start throwing stuff too!

 



 

 

 

 

Next was the parachute. Everly has experienced the parachute before in some of the free Library play time her daddy has taken her to. In this class they ride on top and then they play underneath also. You can't see that well in this photo below, but Everly is having the time of her life!

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, I definitely atleast reccommend going to the free one if you have one by you. They have several different classes based on your babies age and it is great for their development. For me, it is out of my price range and budget, but I am glad we went. As we were leaving, Cameron made a mad dash for this ramp and just started climbing up it. These ramps are kind of steep and slippery! He is so strong! Also, I am so grateful that my baby has other babies to play with on a regular basis. One of the moms in the class said this was her daughter's only socialization with other kids and it made me realize how fortunate I am that it is not the same case for Everly! 

 

Thanksgiving 2012

This is a little late, but I wanted to share some details from our Thanksgiving. I started off the day with a 5 mile run with 2 of my 3 sisters (the 3rd was like 8 months pregnant, so yea, she stayed home).

Part of my 15k training which ends this Sunday when I run the race!

We had breakfast at my mom's after the run and looked through black friday ads. After that we went hom to clean up and relax. This year we went to my brother's and sister in laws house for an early dinner. It was delicious, of course, and Everly especially like the cranberry sauce, yams, and turkey.

Everly in her Thanksgiving outfit.

After dinner we headed back to North Phoenix/Glendale. I dropped Justin off at Walmart at 6:15, went home and fed the hounds, and then headed back to my mom's with Everly for dessert. I left Everly there and went to join Justin at Walmart around 8:00p.m. by that time it was a complete ZOO there. People are crazy! We were in line for a 60 inch tv that we were successful in getting for $688! By the time we got out of there it was like 11:00 p.m. Not too bad for Black Friday shopping! It was exhausting, but all in all it was a great Thanksgiving, and of course I am so thankful for my happy, healthy family!