The Renaissance Fair

Syd and I joined Lala, Papa, Mary and Fritz at the Renaissance Fair this year. My mom had planted into Syd's head that there would be lots of fairies there for her to meet and Syd wouldn't stop talking about it. So off we went, and wow was my mom right! Syd had the time of her life. We walked around, ate good food, went through a super scary story museum that Syd insisted on going into and then totally freaked out because of all the spooky mannequins. haha live and learn.

Syd with the fairy who gave her a magical stone, clearly someone told her how much Syd adores stones.



I love how there are just random fun things for kids. This jester was just blowing bubbles for kids to pop.



Mother Goose, which Sydney wouldn't go anywhere near



Syd never passes up a chance to have her face painted



They have so many fun little rides for kids. These butterflies were powered by two young girls in the center pushing a wheel in a circle.



So much fun



If you've been to a Renaissance Fair, then you know that there are always girls walking around in chain bras. Lucky for Fritz, he got to stand next to one in the ax throwing game

So Very Very Sorry

Syd had a bit of an incident at school where for some reason, unknown to any of us, Syd decided to push another little girl down two stairs on the playground. Needless to say, I had zero tolerance for this. Not only were any of her fun privledges taken away, but she had to write an apology note to the little girl and decided to make her a bracelet and necklace from a craft set Lala had given her a day or so prior. Syd definitely realized how serious this was and swore to never do any such thing ever again. She also realized how much she loved to make jewelry. She made a set for her best friend, Savannah, her cousin, Evan, herself and Lala.

Syd after getting home from school and working on the little girls necklace.



I love how serious she is when she creates these items. Making a few more items the next day. A few of her finished pieces on the arm of the chair.

Nonnie & Poppie's Visit

The tail-end of Nonnie and Poppie's vacation in Palm Springs, they decided to come out to see us before hopping on a flight back to Chicago. It's so nice when they come, Chris's mom is my in-home mother. You just get that "aaaah" feeling when she walks in. I love that! Usually the host is supposed to cook when guests arrive, yet I have to fight that urge of wanting to taste Nonnie and Poppie's cooking. I haven't had their chili in years! Anywhoo, back to their visit. Poppie celebrated his birthday a few days before they arrived, so we took the opportunity to sing and eat cake in his honor when they came.

Syd in her Mardigras mask that Nonnie brought her



Love this shot of Nonnie and Popppie at sunset



Syd with her Nonnie and Poppie



Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Poppie, Happy Birthday to you!



Making Birthday Wishes



The day before they left, we had my parents and grandma over for some dinner and to share the birthday cake even more. So much fun with the whole family!

Arizona Sunsets

Me and my baby girl

Tucson Desert Museum

We decided to finally get yearly memberships to the Tucson Desert Museum....since we have so much free time and all. I mean, just look at how often I update my blog. Clearly I need more things to do. Sigh. So off to the Desert Museum we went with Aunt Amanda. She was only here for a few days and thankfully we had some nice weather during that time. Me with my PCOS diet and her with gluten/dairy free, well, we're a match made in heaven for anyone trying to go out to dinner with the two of us. We're always sad when it's time for her to leave, but looking forward to her next visit.

Syd sitting on the piggy banks in front of the museum.



Sydney has this fascination with rocks and has for as long as I can remember. Take her to the zoo and all she wants to take home from the store there is a new bag of different colored rocks. All day at school she digs in the sand to find rocks to bring home. The mineral section of the museum is sooo cool for her.



Checking out some fossils



They actually have a small area where you can search for your own minerals. They have a case with examples to help you identify the ones you found.



Of course, we had to stop to have Sydney search for some dinosaur bones in the sand.



Chris and Amanda trying to figure out how the bones fit together.



No dairy for Amanda and no sugar for me, this was a painful sight for the two of us.