Scottsdale, AZ. A Beautiful place to be

I am so proud of the decisions Hunter is making. For his birthday this year he asked to give most (not all) of his presents to the kids who live at Children's Hospital. He's such a good kid to want to give of himself. I am also so grateful to not have our house (once again) flooded with toys. I think it's important for the kids to not associate birthdays with just getting tons of gifts.  He donated 2 huge bags of toys to the hospital. 

 Rachel went with us because she is like a sister to me and a great friend. She's known these kids since before Hunter was 3, Landon was only a few months old. She's loved these kids and watched the grow and I thought she would be as proud of Hunter as I am. It turns out that she took half a day off of school in order to come be with us. Such a sweet friend!

 Arizona. How we love it there. We sit by the pool all day long.

 These are our buddies Tom and Barb. They love seeing the kids every year in AZ. They live in Chicago and are very busy with work but always check in on the kids and play with them tons when they are in town. The kids look forward to seeing them and always ask if Tom and Barb will be at dinner or lunch or wherever we are going. They are really awesome with the kids and we are so blessed to have such nice people in our lives "adopt" us.

 We went out for 2 dinners. One night we went to Mastro's - a favorite. Chocolate mousse and butter cake. Yum yum yum. We took a bunch of it to go.

 These 2 are in love.

 Funny face

 This big boy keeps getting more and more handsome!

 And this one too! Such kissable lips.  I am so proud of both of these swimmers! They are 100% independent in the pool. Aspen wants to be and repeatedly twists and kicks to get out of your arms. That's not working out so well for her.

 Brian brought steaks and salmon for dinner one night. I made all the sides. It was delish!

 No high chairs for me!

 Robes!

 All 3!

 My boys <3 p="">

 Our second date night at Talavera. Delish! We enjoyed this raspberry lemonade a ton too!

We always enjoy going there. So much fun. Good food. Good kids. Good pool. Life. Is. Great.

Hunter's 5th birthday!

Hunter turned 5 last week. 5. He's amazing. He's 51 pounds and 46 inches. He's gigantic! He is a complete social butterfly and loves people way too much. One of the moms at school the other day referred to him as "contagious" and I thought it was a great compliment. She said "it's impossible not to be happy around Hunter. He's contagious." What a compliment! He's sweet. We had a playdate for Aspen today with a 2 year old and Hunter spent the entire time trying to make sure she had a good time. He's an amazing big brother. Just today he brought his favorite car into a lunch restaurant. When his brother started throwing a fit about wanting the car, he gave it to him without even complaining. He's just that kid. That great kid. He can sound out words on his own and is learning how to read. He doesn't love school. He tells me everyday when I pick him up from school that seeing me is the highlight of his day. He adores his Daddy. And swimming. He loves to eat. Especially sweets. He is a total blessing to me and I pray for his health and love every single day. I cannot believe he is five.  Here are pictures from his birthday.

The night before his birthday we set this up so he would be rained on when he woke up in the morning.

 Aspen was the happiest of everyone about this!

 Scooter's jungle! Hunter and 25 of his friends ran around having a blast. Even the adults had fun!

 And this is how every Saturday ends. A happy Hunter getting his infusion.  We have to keep him healthy!

 And Mother's day morning I woke up to a delicious (healthy) breakfast and gifts, cards, flowers and balloons. I am so loved. <3 p="">