SYTYCD in Concert...

In November Rusty and I got to finally use the tickets he had gotten me for my birthday.  We went to Melting Pot for my official birthday dinner and then drove out to Phoenix for the concert.  It was such a cool experience.  First of all, it was my first time to Melting Pot and it was yummy. 

Then the concert was a blast.  It was in a smaller theatre and the dancers started out the night in the audience so we saw them up close! They did a lot of numbers from the season, but with different partners. And some of the dances they made longer. And one of them the Sand dance, they even added the girls too! It was so so so cool.  There weren't breaks between the numbers, they blended one dance into the next- so awesome.  Of course it is hard to take pictures of stuff like this, so you'll have to take my word that it was amazing.  Definitely want to go again!

Turning 34...

It wasn't so bad.  Rusty got me tickets to see So You Think You Can Dance when they come in November.

Roses from Rusty. 

Rusty had Kneaders French toast for me when I woke up. 

Gifts from friends. 

The best part was it was Bunco and my sweet friend Kim planned the whole night around me.  The food was my fav, Costa Vida style salads, Red Velvet cupcakes. There were balloons and streamers and all the prizes were "my favorite things".  I even got to pick first, cause heck, it was my birthday!

Kim Carrol and I 

Some of the prizes were a sleep kit (which I picked), chevron bracelets (which Kim picked and gave to me), gift card to Thrive, a Silhouette tool, and gift cards to my fav spots, a frame, Princess Bride DVD and a couple others. Plus the group got me a gift certificate to get a pedi! 

Berkley turned 6!!!

After celebrating all week long it was time for his family party. Man, I feel like I have been posting 6th birthday things for a month, oh.....wait. I have.

 The long suffering borthday party guests...

 He wanted an angry birds birthday cake. I didn't remember to order one, and lucked out at Walmart at 10pm and found this!

 He enjoyed it.

 Beyblades and Beywheelz make this little man a happy boy.

Happy Birthday Berkley. At age 6 you have developed a soft heart, and are quick to tears when you are hurt or wronged. You play well with all of your brothers and love when friends come over.  You would be outside all day long if I would let you, or you can sit and play on the computer for an hour with out moving, depending on the day.  You love to be busy, and you still sleep with my "candy corn" (candy cane) blanket at nights. Your laugh is contagious and your smile is amazing.  We love you Berkers!

October in Cali pt2...

We did a little research and and decided that we wanted to go to either the San Diego Zoo or the SD Zoo Safari Park.  We have been to the SD Zoo before so we thought we would try the safari park.  When we got there the parking lot was almost empty.

 We walked in and there was a super helpful volunteer that basically highlighted our map and told us what to hit when and where to eat.  We went straight for the African Tram tour.  It is a HUGE place. Huge. I think I remember them saying 40,000 acres, but that may have been just the African Tram area.  It is all so open, gorgeous.  But it was HOT!

 The first animal we encountered was this Military Macaw. He was funny.  He kept squawking at his trainer until she set him down, then he pooped and squawked some more.  Boston thought he was talking just to him so they squawked back and forth for a few minutes.  We were dying laughing.

 The volunteer at the entrance said, "get a picture on the rhino, everyone does".  So, we did.

 Petting zoo time

 My batty boys.

 Looking out over the African safari area.  The park owns the land all the way to the mountains you see behind me. We took an elevator down three flights to get to the base so we could load up on the tram.

 I think this lazy lioness was the boys favorite thing they saw all day.

 On the tram tour you get to see herds of animals. It is really cool. But it was very, very hot.  We walked a little bit of the loop and went to get some lunch.  By that time Rusty and I were done, and the boys were too. We probably spent more time at the play area than we did seeing any other area.

We went back to the hotel, rested and headed to the beach.  Brenner and I stayed behind to take a nap but caught up after an hour. By then Jill, Jaci and Cindi had also arrived in Cali. We spent most of the time chasing Boston up a hill.

After a quick shower we went to dinner at Benihana's in Carlsbad. I gotta say, going somewhere where all my kids will eat, and eat a LOT, is rare. But they loved Benihana's.  We ordered a bunch of different things and everyone shared.  Of course the chef was a great entertainer. When we walked in they told us it would be a 40 minute wait, but then the manager walked over, looked at our group and said "You have a lot of kids, let's just seat you now." Pretty funny!

Brenner was only content after he got my iPhone, headphone, some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and edamame.

Our very talented and patient cook.

The birthday boy got sung to again and then we went back to the hotel to gear up for Legoland the next day!

October in Cali...pt 1

 It has been so hot this October in Arizona.  Hot.  I was really wanting to get away for October break, and since San Diego was nice enough to offer "kids free October" we made it happen! We planned to go to Legoland for two days and spend a day at the beach before coming home. On the way over, we were planning our day and I checked the park hours. Closed.  Legoland is CLOSED on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So random, right? We already had two day passes so we decided to add a day in at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  I think I will have to break this down into a couple posts. So lets, start with day 1. {10.16.12}

Of course, we thought we would get to enjoy the cool weather of SoCal, but not so. It was actually hotter in Cali than it was at home. No bueno.  After we got to the hotel, unpacked and let the boys chill we decided to go to the beach.

 The boys loved it. Brenner laughed and laughed whenever the waves came in. It was a pretty steep beach and Boston couldn't figure out why he couldn't walk right, he quickly figured out he could crawl around a lot better on the sand.

 Of course, what would be your first trip to the beach without eating a little sand...

After we went back to the hotel and de-sanded, we went to BJ's for some yummy dinner and then back to the hotel for lights out! Up next- Safari Park!