tales from a far-land

March was a very busy time for the Farrell-Landers family.  With the gorgeous spring weather in the air, we were happy to to be the destination choice for many of our family and friends to visit.  Grandpa Landers, GG and GP visited us at the beginning of the month for Madilyn's third birthday party.  We are very lucky that our daughter is able to spend time with her grandpa and great-grandparents who she does not get to see very often as they live out of state.  It made her birthday party even more special. In mid-March, we had a couple of my sorority sisters visit with their families to enjoy the spring weather and some Dodger baseball games.  We all enjoyed catching up with each other and watching our kids play together.  I really wish that you all lived closer ... thanks for visiting.   During her spring training visit this March, Miss Kathleen also enjoyed participating in a Teddy Bear Picnic with my kids ...

In the spirit of the holiday, we dressed up the kids on the morning of St. Patrick's Day and took pictures in hope to send out a blog post that day from our family.  As you can see, that didn't quite happen.  Somehow my day got away from me and the pictures never got downloaded ... until now.  So, here is our family wish to you -- better late than never ... Hoping you had a very merry St. Patrick's Day filled with luck, laughter and fun!

Madilyn Rae turned three at the end of February.  I cannot believe the past three years have flown my so quickly.  She is developing into quite the little lady.  She loves purses, shoes (especially, Mommy's high heals), barrettes in her hair, taking care of her baby, dancing around the room and stirring up as much drama as she can.  For her birthday, we took her for ice cream at Mary Coyle Ol' Fashion Ice Cream Parlor.      On the Monday following her birthday, we visited her pediatrician.  The well check went pretty well.  Madi still clung on to me pretty tightly when the doctor ran some of her health checks.  All and all, Madi is developing like a normal three year old. Here were her statistics and some photos of Madi from the pediatrician visit on February 25th, 2013: Height – 37.5 inches (63rd percentile) Weight – 31 pounds (54th percentile) I am three!   We decided to del...

At the end of February, I nominated by one of my carrier partners to partcipate in their Producer Roundtable discussion in Miami, FL.  Basically I was selected, along with about 50 other producers from around the country, to discuss and participate in a roundtable regarding industry changes, recommendations, and feedback on the sponsoring company.  The carrier covered the cost of round trip airfare for me and a guest, ground transfers, two nights accommodations at The Biltmore of Coral Gables, group meals, and a sponsored group activity on one of the afternoons.  Of course, I was so honored and agreed to participate.  Then, the trip planning began.  Since we were flying all the way across the country for a two day business event, Josh and I decided that we should take a red-eye in the night before we needed to be there to enjoy more of Miami.  We also decided to stay an extra day to see the sights.  Thank goodness th...

We have had an fun-filled spring and the months have flown by.  So, little by little, I will be updating the blog with all of our fun adventures.  In mid-February, Aiden and Madilyn were invited to a birthday party for their twin friends -- Isaac and Hannah.  Now that we have kids, we get invited to several birthday parties and they can be pretty routine.  However this was one of the most fun birthday locations we have ever visited.  The party was at Jambo! Park in Phoenix.  It is a indoor amusement park and features three indoor amusement  park rides (Flying Elephants Ride, Jungle Swing Ride and a Safari Train), a pirate themed laser tag area, a safari themed 2-lane mini bowling alley, a jungle themed 18 hole indoor miniature golf course, and three amazing robotic safari animals (E lephant, Giraffe & Zebra) that kids can ride!  There was also a large indoor soft playgroun...

Year by year, the holidays become even more fun as the kids start to understand and embrace the traditions that surround each one.  Thursday was Valentine's Day, so we spent Wednesday evening addressing Valentine's Day cards for their classmates at preschool.  Madi and Aiden also colored a couple of cards to give to special Valentines.  At preschool on Thursday, each of the kids classrooms had their own individual parties.  I was very lucky that my schedule allowed me to participate with both of my kids in this fun afternoon activity.  Aiden eventually joined Madi's class party as there were only two kids in his class that day.  There was plenty of food and all of the kids seemed to enjoy the fact that they were able to indulge in some rare classroom sweets. Will you be my Valentine? Madi's Valentine's Art Projects Preschool Valentine's Day Party Pictures Aiden & his classmate Brayden Madi's Classroom ...