Ian's birthday

 Ian turned five on St. Patrick's day! We celebrated with a fruit rainbow and IAN and shamrock cookies in the morning, playing the Ipad for most of the afternoon, and going out to Red Robin for dinner, where he got his wish to be sung to. The kids and I got silly with St. Patrick's day mustaches in the afternoon. What I love is that I did not direct their faces at all, this is what they came up with!

 On the Friday after his birthday, we hosted a party for Ian and several of his friends. We played pirate games, including a treasure hunt, and I made this pirate cake. He had a great time.

Petrified National Forest

 On our way to Albuquerque, we spent some time exploring the Petrified National Forest, which is conveniently halfway between Surprise and Albuquerque. The kids loved being able to run around, and it was a pretty cool place to visit.

Family vacation: Albuquerque

One of my best friends recently moved to Albuquerque, NM, so we decided to go visit her family over spring break. We had a wonderful time reconnecting with Janice and Jeramy, our kids played well, and we got to explore the city a bit.

We played several strategic board games--kindred spirits!

Lovely ladies, as we're off to church.

We spent Saturday at the Explora Science Museum, which was awesome! Here are some pictures from that day, including Mr. B and I getting to ride a high-wire bike.

March at the Brien's

 March was packed! We started off with attending Audrey's Egypt play with all the first graders. She had a line and sang a bunch of songs about Egypt with the rest of the first graders. It was adorable. She is with her new friend Anna Kate in the third picture.

 The next day it was hot, so the boys and I got the blow-up pool and water out to play!

Renaissance Festival

 My parents and brother Ben came to visit us in mid-February. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of them. We really enjoyed being together. One day we went to the Renaissance Festival, so here are a few pictures from then!

February at the Brien's

I taught my kids to balter, for a picture to enter a contest to win Renaissance tickets. Didn't win. Now we know a new word though.

Declan, at age two, has become a serious reader. As he perused the book he'd snatched from me, he said, "Hmm. Hmm. No pictures? Hmm."

Audrey eating homemade Rocky Road ice cream on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.

Riding bikes and scooters; February is a pretty awesome time of year in Surprise!

Audrey selling Girl Scout cookies for the first time. She charmed quite a few customers into buying cookies from her! Audrey joined Girl Scouts in November 2013.

Daddy Daughter Dance

 Audrey's school hosted a Daddy Daughter Dance, so of course Mr. B took her! They had a wonderful time: Audrey got a flower boutonniere, they posed for a picture (which I need to scan), danced, ate cupcakes, and had fun with friends.

Sewing

I have wanted to learn to sew for many years, and finally got a sewing machine for Christmas and made my first project: a drawstring bag. It was fun! I am still intimidated and have a lot to learn, and really, I just need more free time so I can continue. I have fabric and supplies for a few projects, but no time yet to do them in. At least it's a start!

Artists in (my) residence

 I checked this book out at the library and did a few projects with Audrey and Ian. It was great to learn about famous artists and try to imitate their work. 

 Over MLK holiday weekend, I drove out to southern CA to visit my great friend Valerie who lived in Atlanta when we did. She has such an amazing family, and I enjoyed catching up with them, spending time with her adorable children, and girl time. I also got to go to lunch with my friend Bekah one day, but we forgot to do a picture.