More creative cupcakes

Collin and Kayla are loving these classes!

Clowns


Panda Bears


Friends (Kayla and Chloe take the class together and Collin and Noelle take the preschool age cupcake class together) :)


Yum

Sleeping Beauty

We were so excited to see the play, Sleeping Beauty at Hale Theater here in Gilbert on Saturday. We joined Susan, Lauren, Hailey and some other friends for the show.
The kids sat in the front row with us behind them.
The theater is circular and the cast really interacts with the audience so it was so neat to have the kids up close.
At one point Prince Charming calls out, "What shall I do to wake the Princess?"
And the kids called things out. Kayla (and several others) called "Kiss Her!!"
And he came closer to her and asked "What is that you say? What should I do?"
Too cute. It was our first visit to Hale Theater in downtown Gilbert but we hope to hit the kids plays there from now on, which will be extra easy because.....
WE GOT THE HOUSE! We FINALLY found out this morning that the bank officially accepted our contract and we have opened escrow. MAY 15th we will be moving in to our home and I have butterflies in my stomach knowing that the kids will be picking out their bedrooms this Thursday morning! Yay!
Here are pix from the play.

Crazy Creative Cupcake Class

You gotta love the Gilbert Rec center.
I remember putting Kayla in classes like Fairytale Princess ABC's when she was 3.
They offer things like Sticky Messy Art, Pee-Wee PopStar, Rainforest Rangers and so many other fun classes!
The kids started cupcake decorating classes this week and they are having so much fun! They are each in class with their own age group which is also nice.
This week's cupcakes were decorated as fish bowls. Cupcakes dipped in light blue icing with fruity pebbles on the bottom for the colored rocks and goldfish crackers "swimming around."
Last week's theme was butterflies and we look forward to what next week's class holds.
We also enjoy eating these creations!

Easter

Easter Sunday was a full day.
Joann and Tom hosted an awesome party with great food, decorations and goodies for the kids. The Easter egg hunt was a blast!
The day was made even more special by the fact that Chris and Kelsey came over....
engaged!! Yay Chris and Kelsey. We could not be happier.









After the brunch, we all decided to go hiking.
We headed to the SanTan Mountain Regional Park. I found the perfect trail online called "Moonlight" and it was described as a trail appropriate for the whole family, including kids!
I did not, however, check and see how the trail loops or where it ends and we all ended up getting a little lost and hiking almost 4 miles instead of 1.2 miles.
This would not be a problem except for the fact that we had a tiny dog that needed carrying, two small children who needed carrying and a Vizsla that stepped on god-awful cactus balls. Drew decided to pull the thorny devils out of his paw with his mouth and proceeded to get a needle pierced in to his tongue. Poor buddy!
I got a cool picture of Collin next to a giant Saguaro cactus and a picture of a GIANT bug he found on a Saguaro. See below (the bug was almost the size of his hand)
All in all it was a fun hike interrupted by a few minor injuries and some sore feet and muscles.



We did manage to remove the cactus needle from Drew's tongue later in the day.
It was a three person operation but we got it done!

I'm Lucy

My name is Lucy. I am a Cavachon. That's half King Charles Cavalier and half
Bichon Frise.
Some might call me a "designer dog".
I am.
I am a sweet puppy and I'm very comfortable with my family. I let the kids carry me around and dance with me.
I am a performer by nature. I like to walk and hop on my back legs, leap over hurdles and trot like a show dog.
I love to lay by Tim's shoulder on the top of the couch or in Mom's (Robin)lap.
I love Abby and Drew but I don't like other dogs. I don't trust them. They're usually bigger than me and they smell funny.
I am very vocal and very needy. I whine until somebody holds me. I really like
to be held.
My dog food isn't good enough for me. I turn my nose up and leave it in my dish until I am absolutely starving or until Abby can no longer resist staying away from my bowl.

My favorite toy is my bunny. I LOVE my bunny and I've had it since I was 8 weeks old.


It's fun when Abby pretends to kill me.


The kids like to pretend they've captured me and put me in a cage.
I go along with it.


I like to sit with my family at the table for meal time


And Gosh Darn, I was a cute puppy!

I'm Abby

My name is Abby. I am a Golden Retriever.
I am quite possibly the nicest animal that ever lived.
I have many interests. At the top of the list would be people.
No, maybe my tennis ball. Well.... it's a toss up.
I absolutely love food. In my dish, in the trash... it doesn't matter.
I really love my kids. I like to play in tunnels and tents with them.
I like to pretend that I'm a kid too. They sure make me feel like one!

I like to be the patient when we play "Vet"


I like to pretend to kill Lucy.


I really like my tennis ball


I really REALLY like my tennis ball


I have epilepsy :(
Did I mention that I LOVE my tennis ball??

The Waiting Game

Well, we are becoming pretty good at this game.
Right now we are waiting to find out if we got the house we have a bid on.
We are waiting to find out if Kayla has a spot at EduPrize for second grade.
We are waiting to see if indeed, this house we are currently renting will be foreclosed on.
You'd think all of these question marks would create one giant ball of stress.
But I'm finding that we Deans live pretty well in the unsettled zone.
It's kind of fun not having every step of your life planned out and set in stone.
We certainly hope that all will work out with the house and school but if it doesn't it's just a new adventure.
Homeschooling is so fun that it is going to be painful to let this chapter of our lives go. So if we have to look at another year or more of it I think we'll be pretty pleased anyway.
Right now the kids are enjoying book clubs, science club, lego days, park days, plays at the local theaters and lots and lots of good books.
They officially swam in the pool yesterday (it's still too cold for me).
So we are keeping busy while we continue to wait.