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.

A few more December pictures

Audrey's birthday was a fun day at school and packages and presents and cake at home!

A picture of my growing-up-seven-year-old 

Christmas bikes from Grammy and Grandpa

Before Christmas bikes came along, brothers had to ride hand-me-down pink!

December

December was pretty busy and very merry. The first week, Mr. B played his French horn in an orchestra performing The Messiah. Audrey's seventh birthday was that week as well, and she and I went to the mall to make a build-a-bear and have lunch and shop. We bought our Christmas tree and decorated, made lots of goodies and went to a few gatherings. I served Italian sodas at the church party, which was a hit. I took Audrey to the Nutcracker with my friend Annaka and her daughter Taylee. We got Audrey a fancy dress for the occasion. And we celebrated Christmas, just us, in our home. It was peaceful and fun and full of delicious food!

November

November's highlight was Thanksgiving: I made perfect gravy for the first time ever!! It has been my Achilles' heel in the kitchen, but finally victory was mine! My brother Paul came to visit again, which made the holiday much more celebratory. I nabbed a picture of him napping with Declan. And a picture of one of my pies. Mmm. Finally there is a photo of a praying mantis that Declan and I found in the yard one day. We love having grass and apparently we're inviting a new population, fun!

We got our yard done!

The first year we lived here, our backyard was a rectangle of dirt and weeds and pebbles. The kids had fun digging in the dirt, but it was not generally a fun place to hang out. So we saved up and got some basic landscaping done. We love it and it's a much nicer place to hang out. We've put a slide and some toys out there, and it's so great having a place to send the kids while I make dinner or when they need to get their energy out. And we enjoy all the sunshine and pleasant Arizona winter.

October

We had a very full October. We did a lot of fun Halloween activities (decorating cookies pictured), enjoyed fall break (some outings with the kids and me), Declan got his first haircut, Mr. B and I went to a Halloween party and I got a trophy for best dessert of the night, and the kids got to trick-or-treat twice! (once at the church trunk or treat) Ian insisted on wearing the same ghost costume as last year (a sheet with holes), Audrey wanted to be the tooth fairy, and Declan was stuffed into Ian's 2 year old costume: Frankenstein. All were extremely pleased to end the month with a bucket full of candy.

Happy Halloween from the Briens!