22 Month Check-In

The month of August turned out to fly-by! I feel as though it does each year. So much was packed into this pre-Fall month. From the get-go, I was embracing everything Autumn-ish. I think it is a way of trying to channel all the delightful things that come along with this season. Here in Phoenix, our “Fall” never really starts until mid-October when the temperatures begin to lower. We really can’t wear or enjoy all the things that many other states do this time of year. We put off wearing scarves, jeans, long-sleeved shirts. We don’t really start cooking stews, roasts, pies or heavier dishes. Yet, I went out and bought an Apple Spice candle, got a Pumpkin Spice latte the moment Starbucks debuted them for the Fall. Ha!

The kiddos were very busy, as was my husband and I. We personally love this month, as it’s when we were married (August 17th to be exact). This month contained Mike and I going on a Day-Date to a waterpark (which we do each year) and a staycation over a weekend to celebrate our 4th anniversary.

For the kids, we attended multiple PlayPlaces and Playdates, they enjoyed a couple wagon walks again when we the cooler temperature days appeared here and there. We couldn’t not take advantage.

Here is a highlight video that I was going to put at the end of this blogpost, but I couldn’t help but start with it. It’s just so cute and warms my heart everytime Zoe and Zeke show signs of love, friendship and sibling closeness. It’s my deepest prayer that they will grow to be close buddies throughout life.

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June, July and into August I was busy launching and interviewing guests for my new podcast called “Double The Fun.” If you haven’t yet checked it out, I highly encourage you to do so. You can visit the show notes and links to listen right here on the podcast page of my blog. *Most importantly, after you listen to one or more episodes, I would really appreciate it if you can take 3 minutes out of your busy day to rate & review it. I provide step-by-step directions on how to do this right there on the podcast page!! Oh, yes…and please tell your friends and other family members about DTF!

You can listen on Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here, or Stitcher here.

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With no further ado, here are good pictures of the kiddos playing at the Chandler Mall PlayPlace. Too bad I didn’t start counting when we started going, but since we’ve gone almost every day since mid-May, we probably have been here over 90 times this Summer! As an added bonus on top of the kids having so much fun playing on the equipment and with other kiddos, I’ve met other moms/parents and have been able to chat and even meet a few twin moms!

More play time…

In mid-August the twins’ great-grandparents, Nana (Lois) and Grandpa (Len) came to visit! We had a delightful time together for 2 days! While here, we visited the basketball court and had fun playing around.

Here are some fun videos…

And photos from the kiddos playing at the Chandler Mall…

And some photos of lunch during their visit…

And more playing…at the AZ Mills Mall…

And all of us together…

In early August, I took the twins to the IDEA museum as a playdate with my Busy Bees group. The twins had so much fun! Zoe loved the stuffed doggies (perhaps we have a Veterinarian on our hands? After all, she does show a lot of love to our cats Midnight and Sweetie). She also loved the apron and playing in the kitchen, as did Zeke. The Light-Bright Wall was a big hit. Zeke also loved playing with the Magnatiles, Legos and blocks.

And another trip to AZ Mills Mall. We’ve gone 1,294,483,940 times this summer to this mall + Chandler Mall! The air conditioning and play equipment was a great get-away each day. While there, we dropped into the pet shop where the twins had such fun seeing the new doggies play.

And a few more pictures of the twins on another day. Zoe looks so serious…that’s because she’s intensely focusing on keeping herself balanced atop the crab slide.

More playing at AZ Mills. Zeke and Zoe are quite the climbers now (both at playplaces and at home!)

 

I attended the once a month “Storytime” event at Cornerstone church where the twins had a blast. There are three large rooms: In one, there are a ton of books and a staff member dynamically reads a few kids stories engaging the kiddos and keeping them mesmerized. In the second room, it was full of activity…two bounce houses, a little car with a track, and two little mini-playgrounds. Zoe and Zeke had the most fun in the activity room (no surprise) as they are super active at this age. They spent a solid  hour+ in this room jumping, running, scooting and playing.

Here are a few videos from their time at the event….

 

The kiddos playing at the Chandler PlayPlace….

 

And afterwards, a little Puppy-Love…

 

Getting so excited…

 

Some fun playing after church…Zoe takes a nosedive of fun and Zeke made some friends on the bus…

Our Busy Bees group had a Moms Night Out where we played some super fun games, including “Fishbowl.” I had never played it before…and I had a blast! (In one of these photos, I look really mad, but I really wasn’t! I think my “look” just reflected just how intensely passionate and into the game I was).

I went to Giggles indoor playplace for the first time with a new MOPS friend, Heather. Zoe and Zeke had a TON of fun! Giggles is filled with a huge variety of toys and equipment: A Treehouse, playground, market/store with grocery carts, campground, hammocks, see-saw, wormy tunnel, train tables, a stage with piano and drums, a dress-up area, and more!

And now all the fun little videos from the day!

I actually joined 2 MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups. MOPS is a group for mothers who are Christian and have children aged 0 on upward. The first I joined is the MOPS at Cornerstone church. I go to this one on Monday mornings. It’s a huge group and I’m excited to get to know and spend time with the women in this group.

The second MOPS is in Ahwatukee and much smaller, but nice and cozy and just as friendly. On the first day we played Bunko, which was a ton of fun. I scored totally even…I won 6 games and I lost 6 games. A Mom won a prize for the most won, and another mom won a prize for the most lost. Anyway, I am also looking forward to getting to know the ladies at my home table over the course of the year.

More pictures of the kiddos playing at AZ Mills Mall…

We had our Busy Bees General Meeting in late August where Dr. Amanda Dewbray came to speak to us about PPD, PPA, reciprocal relationships, stress all surrounding being a mom. It was quite interesting and we are looking forward to having her back for a future meeting.

A fun video of the kids kicking the wall! Toddlers to the core right now!

Mike and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary in two wonderful ways. First, on our actual official date, we ate dinner at The Melting Pot which was where we went to eat the evening of our engagement…when Mike proposed!

We celebrated the following weekend again. Every year for our anniversary, we do an overnight “staycation” to a local resort in the Phoenix area. It’s a time when we can rest, unwind, and get away child-free and just focus on the love we have for each other. What with being busy parents and (Mike) nursing student, quality time is such an important thing for us and our marriage. Ciara (our amazing babysitter!! Shout out!!) took care of the twins again this year while we went to Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort. When we arrived, we swam in the River Ranch, enjoying playing around in the waterfall, going down the waterslide multiple times, tubing along the lazy river also several times and laying out and soaking up the sun to chat. Then, we had THE most amazing couples 50-minute massage at Tocasierra Spa and Salon. Then, we cleaned up and walked over to Rico’s American Grill on the grounds for a lovely dinner. I forgot to take photos, but Mike ate the Original 1/2 pound burger with onion rings, and I had 4 of the breaded and fried fish tacos. Then, we do what we always do and drove to get ice-cream! This year, we went to Coldstone and enjoyed having the “Birthday Cake Remix” which was Cake Batter Ice Cream, with Brownie, Fudge and Rainbow Sprinkle Mix In’s. Mike had a twist on the Founder’s Favorite with Sweet Cream Ice-Cream, Heath Bar, Almonds and Caramel Sauce.

In the morning, we each worked out (he went to the gym, which I went running in the local area), then came home to shower then we headed to “The Henry” for breakfast. Amazing food, by the way. Mike got the Quinoa Breakfast Burrito with a side of bacon, while I had the Two Egg dish with bacon, their delicious fresh wheat toast smothered in homemade butter and jam and fruit. Then, we went back to the hotel and played around in the water again at River Ranch until we finally had to check out. Overall, it was absolutely lovely! A great celebration of our marriage.

At the end of the month, I enjoyed going to see the movie “Where’d You Go Bernadette?” with my Busy Bee mom friends! It was a good movie with a message of pursuing your own hobbies, talents and skills.

Meanwhile, the twins had been taken care of by Ciara wonderfully! She fed them well, played with them, took them to the basketball court in the apartment complex (twice) on a walk, and just had a great time with them. We are so grateful for her! Here are some pictures from their time!

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Looking forward to September!!