Special Needs Day

Even though we had just gone the week prior, last weekend we went back to the train park for Special Needs Day. My sister invited us through the Down Syndrome Network of AZ and we went last year as well so we knew we had to go back. They set up tons of vendors, carnival games, bounce houses and slides, a petting zoo, horse rides, and there is free lunch. They have lots of characters walking around like Mickey and Elmo and you also get free access to all of the train park activities. I think my favorite part this year was letting the kids sit inside a fire truck. They all loved it and Everly loves her firefighter hat. Here is a little clip of the day:

 

These kids are super lucky to have an Aunt and Uncle like my sister and her husband that often give up their Saturdays to spend time with us and help with the babies (especially when our husbands are working). We started the day on the train before it got too busy. They get excited while just waiting to ride. I got to sit by Teddy. 

 



My mom snapped this gem, which is kind of a miracle because often she acts like she doesn't know how to use her phone.

 

This kid is so much fun, but oh so much trouble, too! It is so fun to see the second child dynamic before I have to experience it myself.

We rode on the "carouself" again and Everly has been really getting into taking pictures lately. She loves to pose when I say cheese. I hope this phase lasts! After that we visited the fire truck before heading into the carnival area.

 

 

 

 







 



We stopped by a few booths and picked up some freebies. Cameron did a little bowling and the boys played a little soccer before we headed to the bounce house. My sister and her husband jumped in the bounce house with the babies and they loved it. Cameron especially loves the bounce house, but Teddy is still learning to like it.  

 

After that we had lunch before checking out the model trains and actually walking through a real train. I always like that part because it is so tiny in there and I can't imagine what it must have been like to ride in one of those on a long trip. When I was in Japan a few years ago I got to ride on one of the Shinkansen trains (bullet train) which is super fast and although we didn't sleep on it or ride for more than a couple hours, it was a lot more spacious than these old trains. We will probably be taking a break from the train park for a while as it starts to heat up here, but I definitely foresee a lot of splash pads in our future as many of them have started opening for the summer!





One of the model trains had Buzz Lightyear as well as Mickey and his gang riding it, which is obviously the best one.

 

One of my favorite phrases she says right now, "Ohh, that's a big one!"

Breakfast and Planes!

 

Last Friday I went into work late so that Justin could go in early so Everly and I planned a breakfast date before I dropped her off at her babysitter's. My sister lives in walking distance of the Deer Valley Airport and I had heard about how cool it is to eat breakfast there and watch the planes take off so we finally got to do it. They also have good coupons if you eat there during the week (4.99 breakfast) so we were excited. It really was pretty neat. You can sit inside by the windows or you can even sit outside. We even saw people sitting outside that had brought their own snacks and weren't even eating at the restaurant so we might go back and do that someday. Everly loved her Mickey Mouse pancakes and she called the sausages hot dogs, haha. After we ate we walked into one of the terminal areas (it is super tiny in there) and one of the employees gave Everly a couple of airplane toys. She was in heaven. It was a great morning.

 

Justin and I had both heard on the radio that they had a B-17 plane at the airport and that you could tour it. We could see the plane while we ate breakfast, but the tour's were on Saturday and Sunday so we went back Sunday afternoon before dinner and toured the plane with my sisters and nephews. All three kids are really at a stage where they just love being able to run around and play so they had a lot of fun while we waited in line to tour the plane. I am not even a huge history person or really into planes or bombs but I still thought it was really cool to see something so old. It was definitely tight in there at times so it was pretty crazy to imagine what it would be like to fly in there. I love being able to take Everly to experience new things like this and on top of that it was free so you can't beat that!



 

 

 

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

Last Saturday we planned a visit to the train park in Scottsdale since the weather was great and we hadn't been in a while. Growing up we used to love going to this park. We would often go after church and have donuts and we just thought it was the coolest place. It kind of is. A lot of the park can be accessed for completely free and the train rides are less than $2 a person and little kids are free. There is a lot of ramada space and benches and I feel like we might be having a birthday party there in the future. Everly actually ended up having a melt-down towards the end of the trip and then passed out as we were pulling out of the parking lot so apparently we wore her out. Other than that, it was a really great morning.



"Carouself"

 

 

Probably my favorite picture of the day. He thinks he is so funny! (He is)

 

 

 

 

 

He has always been a fan of going up slides.

Good catch, Grandma.

 

 





 



The beginning of a nearly 4 hour nap.



Wold Down Syndrome Day 2014

Last Friday, 3/21/14, was World Down Syndrome Day. We celebrated my sweet nephew, Cameron, by attending a little party in the park hosted by the Down Syndrome Network of Arizona. We all had matching shirts and my sister and I each ran 3.21 miles that morning. Cameron's favorite part was probably the bounce house and the dancing. Teddy and Everly were mostly fighting over the popcorn (those two!). Personally, I am still learning a lot about Down Syndrome, but I can easily tell how awesome it is to be surrounded by other kids and parents that are in a similar situation as my sister and her family. Every child is different, but organizations like DS Network put on some pretty fantastic events and we are lucky that we get to tag along with my sister. Also, any extra day to celebrate Cam is a pretty awesome idea in my eyes! Here are some pictures from our night:

 

 

This picture is Kim's life every day. Teddy grabbing and yelling "uppa" and Everly tagging along.
 

Family shot!

Last Weekend

Last weekend was a busy one! It usually is because we try to plan activities with Everly and her cousins since we all work full time. We started off with a Spring Training game on Friday night. Most of the spring training games fall during nap time so it was awesome to be able to get in a night game before Spring Training ended. The kids get in free and the lawn seats are $9 so it is a relatively cheap night. I am not going to lie, it is more fun when you can drink beer (especially if you don't really care about baseball). However, it was still a lot of fun and Everly and the boys loved playing in the grass. There were lots of other little kids in the lawn and it is so funny to see how Everly and Cameron both are so interested in the older kids. Teddy was content picking things up off the ground and trying to climb the fence.

On Saturday we went to story time at our local library. It can be hit or miss depending upon the teacher, but the Saturday teacher is usually really good. Also, the class ends with bubbles and stamps, so it is pretty much toddler heaven. Thanks to Grandma (my mom) we were also able to get in a little adult night after church on Saturday. Before any of us were married we used to go out on double dates and go to chili's and do all kinds of things. For obvious reasons that just doesn't happen much anymore so it was a lot of fun to be able to go out sans kids. We went to dinner (me as the DD) and then went miniature golfing. It was actually a lot of fun and I can't wait to go miniature golfing again. Why is mini-golfing so much fun?

This upcoming Friday (3/21/14) is World Down Syndrome Day, our community has a garage sale on Saturday, and then I have my last soccer game of the season on Sunday so we have another busy weekend coming up!

She was dancing all night.

 

 

Cousins

The cutest little brothers.

 

A very successful story time at the library.

 

 

Note for future: Don't bring your purse mini-golfing. We are blaming that on Kim's poor performance.

 

That time when Doug got his ball stuck in the structure on one of the holes and had to climb in to get it out.

Half Marathon #2 and Pregnancy #2

On March 1st, Justin and I completed our second half marathon. Our first one was the Phoenix 10k and Half Marathon last November. I trained for three months and my official time was 1:56:31. I was aiming to be under 2 hours so I was really happy with that. I knew that I would not run as fast this time. My official time for the Phoenix Half Marathon was 2:04:14, which I am still pretty happy with considering this time I was pregnant! I am now almost 16 weeks pregnant, but at the time I was 13 weeks pregnant and running 13 miles so I used that to announce the pregnancy on Facebook/Instagram. I hope to continue running throughout this pregnancy which I definitely did not do last time...just maybe not quite that far! Not quite sure when my next half marathon will be, but I definitely see some in my future.

Justin and I before the race. We had to take a bus to the start and it was in Mesa so we had to leave our house at like 4:00 AM. :(

I was lucky enough to train with girls on my soccer team, Claren and Aislinn. (Ashley missing because she got injured during the run).

 

13 Miles at 13 Weeks Pregnant. I like to think we planned it pretty perfectly!

 

Post-race and finish line photos.

And just because you need to see this, Baby Larkins #2.

Zoo Days

I know it has been a while since I posted. I am always putting off posting until I get all my real pictures off my camera but that is just not happening so we are just going to deal with iphone photos.

We have been zoo members for a couple of years now and we love it. We initially got it as a birthday gift for Everly and then as a Christmas gift so we have not even paid for it. The zoo can be expensive if you have to pay every time but as members it is an awesome free thing for us. In the summer our zoo has a splashpad and it opens early for members so we look forward to that. We usually pack lunches so it makes for a cheap day. We have actually been to the zoo 3 times since my last post in January, but our last zoo trip my sister and brother-in-law took Cam and Everly on a boatride (which is discounted for members) and I think they liked it. Lately, Everly has been OBSESSED with the carousel. She actually calls it "carouself" which is pretty much the cutest thing ever. Cam and Teddy both like it also but Ted was sleeping so Doug got to ride. I never thought I would like the zoo so much, but motherhood does that to you, I guess.