tales from a far-land

A couple of weekends ago, Josh had the kids on his own, while I traveled abroad to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for a couple of days with my girlfriend.  While I was away, Josh took the kids desert camping.  The kids loved it.  They played with bubbles, they cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the fire, they slept in a tent and they discovered wild animals in the desert.  It was an overall success minus Aiden's encounter with a cactus and the smoldering stick he decided to grab out of the fire. The kids cannot wait to take Mommy now that they are professional campers.

Last month, Josh and I had the opportunity to get away for a "Couples" weekend with some friends. We had an amazing time despite some of the car challenges some of us experienced.  On our way down to Bisbee, we all stopped in Sonoita to indulge in some Southern Arizona wine tasting and wine purchasing.  After visiting three wineries, our next stop, on the way to Bisbee, was the Crystal Palace Saloon in Tombstone for a beer.  After fully enjoying the Wild West, we then headed to Bisbee for dinner at Table.  It was after dinner that Josh and I discovered that we had a flat tire.  So, in the dark by the light of his cellphone flashlight, Josh exchanged the flat tire for the spare.  One would have thought that would have put a damper in our night, but no, after we checked into and unpacked our suitcases at the rental house, we headed out to St. Elmo Bar for a couple more drinks and dancing. The next morning Josh and I drove out early to the Sierra Vista Disco...

On the Saturday after Madilyn's fifth birthday, she invited some of her friends over for a Rainbow Art themed party.  At the party, the children were given an artist smock upon arrival to assist them with their transformation into little artists.  Then, all of the guests were divided into four groups and assigned a starting art station.  All of the kids would eventually visit all of the stations to create different art masterpieces.  There was an easel painting station, a paintbrush person making station, a chalk art station and a necklace making station.  It was a ton of fun to watch all of the kids creative juices flow as they created all of their masterpieces which they would eventually also take home as their party favors.  After all of the stations were visited, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Madi and enjoyed some cupcakes.  And of course, the party could not conclude without Madi opening her presents.  The party was a huge success and I think ...

The LEGO® KidsFest  visited Phoenix in February.  The LEGO® KidsFest is filled with interactive, creative and educational activities for the whole family.  It has hands-on educational fun for all ages: LEGO DUPLO Construction Zones, dozens of large-scale and miniature LEGO models and displays, LEGO Games, group builds, LEGO Master Builders, and much more.   Grandpa and Grandma Farrell invited our entire family to explore this event with them.  There were LEGOs everywhere.  It was like a mini-LEGOLAND. I am continually impressed with how they can construct these little toys into so many amazing things. We all had a great time, especially the guys. They all continued to disappear so they could play with all of the different kinds of LEGOs.  What a fun experience! Playing with LEGOs  Madi showing Grandma her LEGOs  LEGO Cinderella  Sitting in the huge pile of LEGOs  Josh and Papa playing too  Ninja Turtl...

Hope you St. Patrick's Day was just as special as ours.  Much love!  Enjoyed a traditional Irish dinner with our neighbors/friends -- The Hortons.

This past weekend was a whirlwind.  The Farrell-Landers family stayed very busy traveling from one activity to the next.  Our weekend included Tot Shabbat, soccer, dance, three birthday parties, a memorial celebration of life, and a spring training game.  And somehow, I was still able to complete four loads of laundry.  Here are some snapshots from our "jam-packed" weekend... Friday Night:  Madi and Aiden marched their Torah around during the service Saturday morning:  Aiden played in the first game of his second season of soccer Sunday afternoon:  We all attended a Spring Training game at the Peoria Sports Complex with our neighbors, the Hortons.  Sunday evening:  Celebrated Brandon's birthday with burritos, beer and cake!