Our Cotton Anniversary

We had a wonderful anniversary day that we shared with the kiddos, even though some of Shawn's counterparts from work were offering to babysit (at least that's what Shawn said!). Before heading to work in the morning, Shawn brought me breakfast in bed, although I quickly climbed out of bed and ate it at the table because I hate getting crumbs in the sheets! lol

While he worked, I got the kids ready for our afternoon trip to Sedona. Shawn knows that this is my ultimate favorite place to visit when we come to Arizona. The landscape is just so pretty and the views are breathtaking. I love to just sit and stare at the scenery. Sedona is referred to as "Red Rock Country" because the dirt has a high concentration of iron, and when the iron oxidizes it turns red. So, essentially, the dirt is rusting! :) Who knew rust could be so beautiful!When we got to Sedona, we drove around a bit to explore the parks and see some of the sights and re-familiarize ourselves with the area. We even found our future vacation home! Can you spot it in the picture? It blends so well with the landscape.After our drive, we took a stroll through the Sedona Gallery District, which is the small city's downtown area with lots of little touristy shops and dining. We enjoyed dinner at a mexican restaurant called Oaxaca. I had their sopapillas and a margarita...yumm yummmm.
I thought that Shawn would be cheesy enough to buy me a t-shirt for our 'cotton' anniversary, but I guess I always underestimate how romantical :) he can be behind that tough-guy image of his. On the way to Sedona from Flagstaff, there is a State Park where Native Americans sell their beautiful jewelry and other crafts. We stopped here last year and I picked up a number of pieces. We stopped again this time, and Shawn bought me this beautiful necklace as another anniversary gift. (This entire trip has been my anniversary present already!)

The design is a traditional Navajo symbol call a 'Nazha' which means 'protector of mother earth; connection of earth and sky.' The Nazha surrounds a beautiful green jade stone (my favorite!). The piece is also very interesting because it is made using one of the earliest Native American methods of metal molding. The mold for the Nazha is carved out of sandstone and the mold is then filled with melted metal, in this case silver. Then, the piece is polished to make it smooth and shiny. But, only the front is polished, so if you look at the back side, it is still very porous and rough from the sandstone mold. Just so simple and gorgeous! I love it!

Family Fun Magazine

Ok. I must admit that I LOVE Family Fun Magazine! They have the coolest and cutest craft ideas, recipes that the kids can do themselves (Isaiah LOVES to cook), party ideas (I love to party plan! :)) and printable stuff (I love giving Mikey different things to do).

I was reading my latest issue on the airplane and loved their article, "Five Ways to Reuse This Magazine". I tried to search their website (http://familyfun.go.com/) for it, but couldn't find it. So, I'll happily type up the craft ideas to share it with anyone else interested!

1. Create surreal collages
Deliberately mismatch magazine images and family photos to make hilariously impossible scenes.

2. Make self-portrait masks
Glue a paint stirrer to a paper plate, then turn kids loose with magazines and craft supplies.

3. Build a play house
Cut out a paper-house base, then let your kids transform it into the home of their dreams with furnishings (and visitors!) cut from magazines.

4. Design hip jewelry
Cut a long tapering triangle from a colorful magazine page, apply glue stick to one side, then roll the triangle around a straw. When the glue dries, cut the straw on either side of the bead, and string.

5. Let them bloom
Trace a CD on a magazine page, cut out the circle, fold it in half several times as you would a paper snowflake, then cut out a petal shape. Unfold, stack with other petals, and use a paper fastener to join the stack to a rolled-magazine-page stem.

Happy Crafting!!!

The Grand Canyon

We arrived in Phoenix on Saturday afternoon and made the two hour drive to Flagstaff, which is our home base for this trip, arriving there around dinner time. We just relaxed and unwound at the hotel for the night then made the short 1.5 hour excursion to the Grand Canyon on Sunday morning.
The Grand Canyon never ceases to amaze me. It is often described as the Earth's 'greatest geological showcase' because of its stunning combination of length, depth and width: 277 river miles long, 18 miles wide and 1 mile deep. And it truly is just astonishingly beautiful. No photos could ever do its beauty justice.I love that we are able to bring our kids here and show them what nature and the Earth is all about. This is the ultimate display. And I love that Isaiah showed so much interest. Many kids his age could really care less; people even asked me why I'd even take the kids there at such a young age. My answer is 'because they care!' and he completely proved me right. He flooded me with questions the whole time we were there: How did it get here? Was it from dinosaurs? Why is there a river? Is this canyon like the Niles canyon? :) Do animals live down there? I reveled in every second of it; curious children make me happy.
Both times we have visited, we have explored just the South Rim as a day trip, which is the shortest drive from Flagstaff. But when the boys get older, we plan to camp a few days at the bottom of the canyon, hike around and see the river. Did you know people actually live down there?!?!

Our Little Seasoned Travelers

I must say that Shawn and I were both expecting the very worst in preparation for this trip. Shawn was scared sick all morning; I was afraid we wouldn't make it to the airport! And I watched the episode of J&K plus 8, where they took a plane ride with the kids, over and over and over, so I could get ideas from Kate on how keep control! But, WOW! What a relief! We were very pleasantly surprised and extremely relieved with the well-behaved bunch of boys we had on our hands. I didn't even have to break out any of my ninja-mommy tactics I had tucked away under my scarf. :)

The big boys munching on cheetos while waiting at the airport.

Baby Mikey quietly playing with his toys.

Mikey took to the flight so well! He looked like a grown little man with his headphones and neck pillow. (lol) And Isaiah can be kept occupied for hours, as long as he has his DS.

Even Baby Liam was having a grand time having the stewardesses swoon over him.
It seems that we underestimate how seasoned our boys are at traveling. They know the drill. Baby Mikey's now been to Arizona twice before he has even turned two years old! (I've only been the same two times and I'm 26! lol) There's also the plane trips to SoCal. But, the next test of their traveling abilities will be our flight to Hawaii (not to mention, our interisland flight to Hilo), which is more than 3x as long as this one to Phoenix. So, I won't get too excited until we survive that one!

this is how we roll....

umm ok. i think this fam of five is ready to hit the road...or blue skies, actually. mind you this is still not everything, as we have to stop as target upon arrival in az (always a pleasure no matter where we are) to pick up essentials like formula, diapers and wipes!

I see tomatoes!!!

Yay! My first tomatoes (or potatoes, as Isaiah keeps calling them) have been spotted. This is the first of 5 transplants that has started to grow them. I hope all of them are able to produce. Hopefully, they can ripen fully before Mikey spots them and plucks 'em prematurely.

WHAT? you scrapbook?

Yeah...I never would have believed it, either! But, gone are the days that I don't have time to do things outside of the realm of work and home...so I had to find SOME way to occupy myself. And, let me tell you, scrapbooking has done the trick. Sadly said, I am now guilty of overspending at Michael's and Joann's instead of Macy's and Nordie's! LOL Who woulda thought that day would come?? When Shawn and I get into arguments about who spends more on what...his vice is still all his manly (said sarcastically) boxing and cycling stuff. But now, he says to me, "well, you spend on scrapbooking!" I can't help but laugh to myself thinking...'that sounds ridiculous!' LOL But, it has become my therapy, allowing me to work without thinking, per say, and just DOING. Not to mention, letting my creative juices flow!!!

But, I can't take all the credit! My beautiful scrapbooks were made from kits designed and compiled by one of my super creative and talented mommy friends. You can visit her etsy site here, though it doesn't seem like she's updated for a while now. She supplies everything you need to get the basic design going and you just take the stuff and run with it....This helps for me because I am not creative by nature, but I'm working on it!

And since I love Starbucks, this coffee break book is my favorite of my faves. The one on the left (err, top, because I couldn't get the pic to rotate) is my rendition and the one on the right (bottom) is that of my friend, Stephanie. The details are awesome: each page is a folded up Sbux pastry bag, the front on mine is a Sbux gift card holder, and the hanging Sbux logo is from the frap cups! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

I also love how one of those cards for filing index cards slips out of each bag, giving room for journaling. How freakin cute is that?This is my "smile out loud" book, which is the same deal, made with a kit designed by Jill. And lastly, but of course not leastly, is a book that Isaiah and I are working on for Shawn. He is the backbone of this family, but doesn't get nearly enough credit for everything he is and does. This book is actually already done, as far as cropping and gluing. I just need to add the pics, but I'm being extra picky choosing which ones to put in it; I just want it to be PERFECT. I'm excited to see the end product.

another lovely day

Going to take the kids to play with their friends at a park today. Weather.com reports 94 degree temps again. It's Bring Your Own Coffee, so I think I'll bring mine cold!

Wente Vineyards

Aaahhhh, vino. My ultimate weakness. If I had the choice to buy a pair of flats or a nice bottle of old vine zinfandel, the latter would surely win. We are wine and entertainment club members at Wente Vineyards in Livermore so, obviously, this is my favorite place to hang. And the perks of being club members just makes our visits 10x more enjoyable. Just a hop, skip and 20 miles from home, it's an easily accessible place to unwind on the way back from a long day in the Bay or as a picnic venue for the family.

Yes, we bring the whole family! The kids love going there because of the open space for them to run. We always have a ball or frisbee in the truck...just in case we decide to stop at Wente. And the pourers know us there; all too well, actually. We walk into the tasting room and our (now lol) good friend, Robin, greets us with 'Ohhhh! You guys are back! How was the drive from Tracy? And where are my boys???' All while Mikey runs around the tasting room screaming 'Vino! Vino!' The boys always get special treatment with extra pieces of dark chocolate, crackers and pretzels. =) I love having them grow up with frequent visits to the vineyards; we dream that one day our family can build one of our own.

Today, I had the chance to have a late celebration brunch for my 26th with a few of my closest girlfriends at The Restaurant at Wente. It could not have been a more gorgeous and perfect day! Of course, we sat on the patio; the sun was high, the breeze was light, great company, great food, great wine. It was just utterly perfect.


The vines we no longer dormant (or dead, as described by Isaiah) and tiny little clusters of grapes could already be seen on them. I'm looking forward to seeing how much they've grown the next time we visit.

My Pampered Little Man

Isaiah's hair has been completely koo-koo after a terrible and traumatizing haircut at a 'children's salon' back in November. We have been growing it out to bring it back to the 'rock star' status that Isaiah so desperately would like to achieve.

Before

My big sister, Karen, and I were headed to our salon (Neo in Burlingame) for color treatments, so I figured I would bring Isaiah along for his cut correction. Isaiah loved his stylist, Christina. Her tattoos only made the experience more exciting for him since it was very rockstar-esque.

Ta-da! Here is an 'after' shot of my handsome little devil. Was I happy to see that handsome little face again! Next thing I know, he'll be going in for 'man'icures, too. =)

Micke Grove Zoo & Park

We are really enjoying our new home here in Tracy and mostly because of all the fun, new friends the kids and I have made. Now that I'm home so much of the time, (if you know me, this is totally abnormal. But, I'm absolutely loving it!!!) I'm glad to have found other moms and kids to learn, grow and spend our time with. I'm really loving the great new friendships with other great moms with similar interests and the kids are forming new bonds with the most charming little people!

At least once a week, a group of mommies get the kids together for different activities including themed playdates and park outings and picnics. Last week, we were pleased to visit Micke Grove Zoo and Park in Lodi.

I think Isaiah wanted to become part of the exhibit. It was probably the baboons. =)

Isaiah and his new bud, Jake, enjoying one of the exhibits.

It is a small zoo, which is perfect for the little feet that get tired quickly. Mikey had the time of his life because I left him free to explore without being strapped to a stroller.

And, there is a huge park with a huge play structure (I wish I got a picture of it =( Next time!) to tire the kiddos out some more on, if the zoo wasn't enough! (This was the case, as always, with my excitable little monsters.)

Berkeley

I have a love/hate relationship with this boys' jiu-jitsu classes. It used to consist of bi-weekly treks to Fremont that would annoy the heck out of me, but, at the same time, made me such a proud mommy to see the boys progressing, meeting new friends and having such fun in their classes.




Now, we have a new destination on Saturdays: the original ModCom gym in Berkeley. This is where Isaiah's belt testing occurs because there are many more kids of higher ability for him to 'challenge' himself with. And he has proven that he can definitely roll with the big dawgs!




According to google maps, Berkeley is not much farther from Tracy than Fremont is and I HAPPILY make this trip to every Saturday morning. Why, you ask? Because after the kids finish their classes, I have about 2 hours to spend while Shawn participates in his own boxing classes. And, boyyyy, do I love spending these two hours in Berkeley, especially on Shattuck and Telegraph. =)


I also decided to invest in the a membership at the Habitot Children's Museum, so that I have a fun, educational place to take the kids when I'm not up for trotting around the busy Berkeley streets with three kids in tow. The boys absolutely love this place! Art corner, ant farm maze, farm play, train tables, grocery store/restaurant, water play and even an infant 'garden' area, which is Baby Liam's ultimate fave.

Messy Mikey loves the art corner and water play area.

Chef Isaiah loves the grocery store and restaurant, where he can cook me up a fantastic plate of spaghetti and meatballs AND THEN charge me for it. =)

Now that we are spending more time there, I look forward to exploring more of Berkeley with the kiddos and find other fun things for us to do, and, not to mention, great places to eat!

FAMILY <3

There are no words to describe how much each and every person in this group of people means to me. I am blessed to have such a tight-knit family that only grows larger each year! We are, by no means, perfect. But, we are a FAMILY, in every sense of the word.

HAPPY EASTER from the Miravite-Adams Gang!

April 12

Today is the day. Today is Easter. Today is my 26th birthday (yes...be envious because I don't have to lie about it! hahaha). And, because today is one of two days each year (the other being Mothers' Day) that I am relieved of ANY AND ALL duties in the domestic realm, today will also be the day I begin the downward spiral of my life by choosing to start my blog. What a fantastic way to spend my day. =)


The addictive and all-consuming nature of blogging is what attracts me to it. And, Lord knows, there is much for me to blog about! There is never a dull moment in the life of this over-booked, over-worked, high-expecting mother whose life is immersed in testosterone. The testosterone is just like the cherry on top...makes everything all the more exciting.



I'm excited to begin this adventure of blogging, because that is what my life truly is: an action-packed adventure full of learning, living, and loving. And I'm happy to share with you our journey through this crazy, unpredictable thing called life.......hope to see you at the finish line! =)