epcot 2

Epcot was hosting the Festival of the Arts and Food Festival which meant some extra foodie treats, like painter palette cookies and s'mores mousse treats. The misty rain was just enough to convince us to buy some ponchos, and once you do that the rain goes away, of course.  The spy mission was a little less charming compared to last time, but the boys still enjoyed it on the new fancier phone system.  The Turtle Talk with Crush delivered the giggles.  

epcot 1

Many good memories of visiting Figment in the 80s with my family... We all got to go back to the Imagination Institute together ;)

animal kingdom 1

After a delayed flight that arrived much later than anticipated, the boys didn't fall asleep until after midnight, but they were ready to go like rockstars the next day.  Keaton was a tiny bit peeved when he kept asking for riiides, and I had to explain to him that Animal Kingdom is more like a zoo. He did get his wish when riding the Dinosaur ride with his dad. My favorite Disney moment of all time was the live Nemo musical.  Even tiny six month old Austin was following along with the giant amazing puppets.  We enjoyed the Kilimanjaro safari which included views of a baby elephant and a baby giraffe.

animal kingdom 2

Dinoland was full of kitsch and we snuck in plenty of spins before heading to back to the Lion King show, which is essentially a circus.  The boys both participated in their explorer program which is so rich in learning from docents all along the different paths.  Aiden was hyped to earn over 20 badges.  We made it all the way until night fall to see the light show on the giant balboa tree.

matchy

Look at those matchy cousin buddies reunited and ready to rock Disney!  

quokkas

We joked a while back that my sister's first baby looked like the olinguito, a rare mammal that was discovered right around that time.  This time I saw the quokkas pop up in an article that deemed it the happiest mammal on the planet! Seeing that cute little animal immediately made me think of Aussie, Keaton's facetime buddy.

tidbits

Playing lotsa games on very cold, snowy days.  Aiden loves picking the looong games like Monopoly and Zootopia.  

Staying warm and cozy knitting up a balaclava for a cute little one year old who lives where it is even colder ;)

Baking lotsa lotsa ricotta cookies!

Drinking hot cocoa at the head of the table as the flakes continue to fly.

Finding all the flying Vs on trips to Guitar Center with daddy.

Aiden does a bunch of word study at school. Here are his fun drawings for his journal.

fencing

A new hobby has taken off!  The club that these guys are joining emphasizes fencing as a sport.  The boys were thrilled to be outfitted with all three layers and fence with the real elxtronic buzzes and everything.

creating

Back to school and it was time for a Kids Care Club meeting - The kids worked hard to tie double blankets for the homeless shelter.

This vacuum sealer toy is essentially like decorating toys with giant temporary tattoos. Fun!

snow

We had just a bit more than a dusting of snow on a weekend day!  The boys were able to really sled on a combo of pine needles and snow ;)

hang out

Our break was a really nice two parts - one week in Tucson and one week at home having friends over and relaxing. I love zen calm smiley friends (although this is not always the case - eek!)

tubac

We fit in a visit to Tubac right after the holiday and it seemed pretty quiet around there.  The metal sculptures and colorful pots were all there waiting for homes ;) They also had a chocolatier that used only honey as a sweetener - yummy!  

az friends

We finally made it to visit my friend's bottle shop downtown.  All the kids got to climb the sign ladder and enjoy the lemon poppyseed popcorn.  Becca's daughter Eleanor turned two just a day later and loved the little bear the boys picked out for her.  

J's advisor and his wife were here in DC the past semester which was so, so nice - but we are really going to miss them! They very sweetly invited us to a tree trimming party at their house where the boys made their own ornaments. We also had a chance to catch lunch with them. We can't wait to get back to Tucson!

san xavier

The White Dove of the Desert - aka San Xavier Mission - was a picturesque peek at this Indian Reservation that lies between Tucson and the area where J's folks live in Sahuarita.

children

The Tucson Children's Museum is packed full of really great interactive exhibits.  Meeting up with our old friends made it even more fun.

oh my

Riding a big blue unicorn!  Making elf paper puppets!  Exploring gigantic tonsils! And more!

desert museum

The Sonoran Desert Museum is such a gem. The cave area that was under construction the last time we visited held all sorts of interesting, fun creatures - even a station with a live snake to touch!  The boys thoroughly enjoyed uncovering fossils.  The one Aiden found wasn't actually a planted pretend fossil, but instead a real trilobite that he was allowed to log and keep.  He says it's the best souvenir of the trip!

wings

Check out these vultures! 

zoo lights

We headed back to the zoo for their holiday lights (with about half of Tucson also attending).  Great Nana did a great job walking the whole zoo!  

zoo

More animals to feed at the Reid Park Zoo with those giant giraffe tongues.  Meeting up with our friends just like we did a few years ago was really fun!  Felix and the boys are cut from the same cloth and get along really well.

great nana

Having time to visit Great Nana in her new home was a really nice part of the trip.  She would give Keaton a ride on her walker in exchange for plenty of drawings ;) The mini drum set was a favorite behind her door with the lighthouse.

air

We visited the Pima Air Museum and it had expanded to over six indoor hangars along with all their outdoor planes.  Meeting a 94 year old man who piloted B-17s in the war was a definite highlight (we even bought his book and had him sign it).  

space

The boys loved the space hangar and the view from lunch at the grill.  The whole afternoon it waffled between bright and sunny and drizzle rain.

cogburn farm

We kicked off our visit to the darndest place in Tucson! This ostrich farm has expanded since the last time we were there and there are far more than just ostriches to feed.  

They added cow nose sting rays with squid to feed them.  Keaton was not nearly as excited for that as he was meeting the lorikeets.  They really liked him even after his nectar was gone. This video shows how ecstatic he was even while mildly terrified.

ostrich

You get a big cup of a variety of seeds and food. One of the donkeys decided that J looked tasty and gave him a big nip in the waist.  Grandpa got some kisses from the goats.  The bunnies win for the absolute cutest. 

boots

One of our first stops was a trip to Cowtown boots to find these cowboys some boots they could break in on our trip. Grampa very nicely oiled them up for them so they were all set!  Check out these hard core hats, which I call costume pieces ;)

would you rather

What a fun month!

Would you rather go back in time to meet your ancestors or go into the future to meet your grandchildren? I want to see old people because I would just want to say hi to them because I would want to see what they are like and what they like

Would you rather be 3 feet tall or 8 feet tall?
8 feet tall because I'd be super tall and I'd be great at basketball 

Would you rather be a deep sea diver or an astronaut?
Deep sea diver because then I can search the deep seas for fish and sharks that I don't know about

Would you rather be a dog named Killer or a cat named Fluffy?
A cat named Fluffy because if I was a dog named Killer people might try to kill me and that is not fun

 Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds?
Invisible so I could sneak up on people and say banana poop and they would say Ahhhh! 

Would you rather have x-ray vision or bionic hearing?
X-ray vision because then I could see through people's bodies and say I can see your skeleton and then combined with invisible power they would be really surprised

nye

A good party for kids and adults to ring in the New Year!  Minus a few friends that were sick, we all made it to midnight to countdown into 2017.  Whoosh, welcome 2017!