Rides for Toys

Last Saturday night Everly and I were out to dinner with my mom and sister when we noticed they were doing Rides for Toys at our local Target. Apparently they have been doing this for years and years but it was the first time we ever participated. If you brought either a toy or a donation you could take a ride from either the Phoenix PD or Phoenix FD. Everly and I barely made it in time. We ran in to Target and grabbed a shopkins set to donate real quick before getting into line for our ride. Everly was really excited about it. We ended up getting to ride in police SUV and they really gave you your money's worth. Our driver was part of the Phoenix PD Reserves and he really gunned it. The ride was only in the parking lot but in the empty corners he drove around in circles and Everly was giggling like we were on a Disneyland ride. I am so glad that we made it in time to do it and look forward to doing it again next year, too.

 

She had so much fun!

Cactus Flower Trail Series: Saguaro 7k

Last Saturday I ran in the 3rd and final race in my first trail series. The Saguaro 7k was out at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. I had only been out here once before but I actually think I liked this location the most. Once I entered the park I had to drive for like 3.5 miles before I even got to the race location. It felt like I was really far away when I was really only about 35 minutes from home. This was the longest of the 3 races at about 4.3 miles. It did get a little colder the night before the run but I hate being hot so it was good running weather for me. I ran at an 8:37 pace which is really good for me and I also beat a girl who has beaten me in the past two races. I did hear overhear her talking after the race saying she was not feeling well and only had a few hours of sleep but I will still take what I can get. That was the fastest I ran in all 3 races and I ended up second in my age group again. I had a really great experience with this trail series. They are small events (obviously since I podiumed in all three events) which I like a lot. They are well run and I recommend them for anyone looking to get started in trail running like I was. For some reason though, races make me anxious so I am looking forward to a little break from that for a while. I guess I like training for races more than actually racing in them!

perfect race morning (luckily, no wind)

little tiny moon.

dead.

 

Happy Birthday Teddy!

Today my sweet and crazy nephew Teddy turns 4 years old. We are lucky to get to spend so much time with him. We celebrated his birthday last Saturday with a lego themed party at Grasshopper Park in Moon Valley. He still has some threenager tendencies but overall it was a great party. Several of his preschool friends came and they were all soo sweet. The kids loved running around the playground and the swings were a big hit too. Justin was awesome and made cupcakes for the party since I had a run that morning and couldn't do it. Teddy loves legos and builds things that are recommended for kids much older than him so he was happy to get so many lego sets for his birthday. The hardest part was telling him he couldn't actually open them and play with them right away. It must have been a good party because Everly was pretty mad when it was time to leave! Happy Birthday Teddy Bear Rohr! We love you!

he didn't even eat a cupcake because, he does what he wants.

 

these two!

 

keeping it simple with pizza

 

kids love the drinks

 

lego cupcakes

late to the party because he is so popular.

 

girl party!

baby girls

Happy Birthday Teddy!

Enjoy all of your legos!

Katy's College Graduation!

Last Friday we celebrated my youngest sister Katy as she graduated from college in 3 1/2 years with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Grand Canyon University. She also played on the women's soccer team for 4 seasons as I have posted about many times before so she was very busy. Everly was at school and Justin was working so my sisters picked up me and Aspen to head out to the graduation. It was a risk, since it was right during Aspen's nap time but she did pretty good, especially considering the graduation was kind of long. The speaker was wacky. He was the drummer for Pink and he basically talked about himself for an hour. Super weird. Once they finally started calling people's names though, it went by pretty fast. We met up with my sister outside and took some pictures after and then headed back home to get ready to house a little open house for her. We only did appetizers and drinks and still had way too much food, but better than not enough. My sister's boyfriend graduated from ASU two days earlier so the cake was split for him, too. Now I am not the only ASU Alumni! My sister's boyfriend is already a teacher, but my sister is going to be going to P.A. school sometime next year I think so it is basically just a little break before going back to school! We are proud of both Katy and Alex!

Katy with Alex and his family which have always been soo supportive of her.

Katy and Teddy

Katy and Aspen

4 college gradates and almost 2 with masters as well.

Sill sisters and a mom h

ASU and GCU

December graduations are very festive.

Sephora Play!: December

I got my December Play box early this year and I was sooo excited. It is soo good this month. This is my 3rd month with the subscription and I think this is the best box yet. It is definitely worth more than the $10 that the box costs each month. This month's box was a "party" theme and came with a Makeup Forever Primer, Elizabeth and James Nirvana Rose fragrance sample (love), Detox by drybar Dry Shampoo sample, Urban Decay all nighter makeup setting spray, Lancôme mascara, and a Sephora liquid lip stain. I am tempted to give some of my samples away as stocking stuffers just because it is hard to go through everything in a month but I love it all so much that it is hard to part with it! There used to be a wait to get the box but I don't think there is anymore so I highly recommend trying it out. Justin asked me how many more I will get of these boxes, haha. I was like um, until I cancel it...aka...forever.

Christmas at the Princess

Last Sunday night we headed over to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess for their Christmas at the Princess event. Last year (here) was our first year attending this and we really liked it so we decided to go again this year. It was a bit busier so I think we will go in the middle of the week next year but the kids still had a blast. It was totally not nearly as cold as it was last year either. I don't know what is going on this year but it has not been nearly as cold this year. We also learned from last year and brought our own s'mores stuff because it is overpriced there and it wasn't even that good. They do a little show every hour and project it against the hotel and that was also a little better last year but it was still cute. The train was really fun for the kids again this year and the driver even went kind of crazy fast at one point and the kids loved it. They also had a section to write letters to Santa and put it in a giant mailbox. I don't remember it being there last year, but the kids loved it. It was a great night!

Crazy Mae Mae

Sweet Nori

Letters to Santa

Snuggling with my baby in our Wildbird sling.