You're Invited!

I just wanted to let everyone know about the upcoming "Italian Dinner and Benefit Auction" that is scheduled for June 5th at the Mesa Jaycee's Courtyard in Downtown Mesa.

You can purchase your tickets through PAYPAL or credit card on the top right corner of this blog. You can also call (480) 649-0562 for more information or to order tickets.

There are going to be some great items and deals at the auction. Click HERE for our growing list of auction items.

We will be auctioning off homemade goodies - your best one! - at the auction. If you would be able to help us with your culinary confections, please leave me a comment or email me directly.

We are also still looking for additional items for the auction. Please email Maria at onesmartchicken@gmail.com or Andrea at amanning24@gmail.com if you have something to donate. All donations are appreciated:)

Thank-you all in advance for your support. Our entire family appreciates it!

Baja Fresh Fundraiser!!!

Anson's 3rd Birthday

Anson turned 3 on April 20. He woke up to his "Birthday Door". We of course had to have Trix for breakfast and had to sneak in some Finding Nemo fruit snacks!


Anson's first present he opened was the movie "Toy Story 2" and a book about Toy Story. He was so enthralled with the book that he forgot he even had other presents! He also got a Buzz Lightyear, Woody doll (his old one had the string pulled out and wouldn't work anymore), and a yellow race car. We had to throw in that race car so it wasn't a complete Toy Story present birthday.



We went to the zoo in Tucson that morning. I recall taking pictures, but for some reason there aren't any on my camera. We must have used Aaron's camera there. We had such a great time, though it was a little short. We got Aaron to come with us, but he had to be back in time to go to an afternoon appointment. We got to see a bear walking around, the tiger and a polar bear swimming in the water (in different cages of course!), feed the giraffes - at least Aaron did, and see lots of other animals too. It was great!

That night we had homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream for our FHE dessert and had Anson blow out the candles. I wasn't too into making another cake - and we don't need it hanging around the house anyway!

Anson's 3rd Birthday Party

I asked Anson in February what kind of birthday party he wanted. He promptly told me a Buzz Lightyear party and talked constantly about his party for nearly 3 months! Every time we had a party or a gathering, he was sure it was time for his Buzz Lightyear party. Note to self: Don't ask a 2, almost 3 year old what kind of party he wants that far in advance. Ever.

So I planned the party well in advance and ordered everything I needed so I would not run into the problem of getting my packages the day of the party - like they did for Rebecca's 4th birthday party. Talk about unneeded stress!

Only problem was, I couldn't find a good date for the party. There was something going on every day I wanted to have the party for someone that was supposed to come. So I kept putting off picking a date until after I came back from Boston on April 14 - 6 days before his birthday. I finally sat Aaron down and we went through every day possible. Nothing was going to work for everyone. So we decided to do it that Friday - as in April 17. We called everyone, and surpisingly there was only 1 conflict - the one I knew about. My sister's brother-in-law was getting married that night, so Alana couldn't come. Also, my mom and brothers could only come for the beginning of the party. Besides that, it worked out great, and I didn't have to worry about the party until the day or two before! Works great for me!


So it worked out best for us to have the party at a park in Mesa. Nathan, Anson's good friend from our ward, was even out this way on this particular afternoon, so Aaron picked him up for the party and Tessa took him home at the end.


This is the Buzz Lightyear rocket ship cake I made. Anson wanted me to keep taking it off the counter and show it to him the whole day. Rebecca and Anson decorated the cupcakes with the leftover purple and green candy from the cake. I also conveniently got rid of the other colors of decorating candy by putting it in the treasure bags for the treasure. Sneaky, huh?


We started off the games with a treasure hunt. They look pretty excited to see what the treasure is! The older kids were definitely the finders and seekers of the treasure hunt, though we were able to get the 3 younger boys to join us to find the treasure.


Next was the Toy Story toss. The kids threw bean bags and tried to land them on different Toy Story characters. Of special note to throw at were the Prospector and the Evil Emperor Zurg.


We played Pin the Tail on Rex (the dinosaur from Toy Story), and the older kids were again much more interested in this one. I got 2 of the 3 younger boys to try it though. The other picture is of Anson's best buddy, Peter. Peter is also Anson's cousin, so that works out well. Too bad he lives an hour away. Anson is constantly asking me to play with him. Luckily Anson has some friends out here too, so he gets over not playing with Peter as much as he would like to. On a side note, Anson was in high heaven the last 2 weeks as he got to go to Father's and Sons with Aaron's side of the family and play with Peter, and then this last week he and Peter and Aaron and Jonathan (Aaron's brother and Peter's dad), went to Amazing Jakes for some father and son time.



Anson got some presents and wanted to get dressed up like Buzz Lightyear right away. He also got a fun big Lego racing set from his Aunts and Uncles. Thank you! He had his serious face on as he opened the presents.

And last, but not least, Anson blew out his candles, and probably didn't make a wish. Not sure that he understands about that part of it yet. He did a good job at blowing out the candles though!

Happy Birthday Anson! We love having you in our family!