Happy Easter.

Hope everyone is having a good Easter Sunday. Its our first Easter here in Arizona. I'm glad the Easter Bunny found his way to us.

here's a picture after he visited


Nick and Sophie made the Easter Bunny E.B at Build a Bear. They made him the day we went to go watch HOP.


Sophie's Basket


Evie's


and Nick's






I got each kid a shirt.  Ugh, notice all the Uhaul boxes in the background. We STILL have not finished unpacking.


We usually have a big Easter lunch at home but since it was just us here and at the moment the kitchen is full of boxes, We headed out to Cracker Barrel! I LOVE this restaurant. I have not been to one since I was living in Kentucky/Tennessee. Gosh I miss living in the South. If I could move back anywhere in the US it would either be back to Southern California or KY/TN.

Here's Nick sharing his ice cream with Sophie :)




After a nice hearty Brunch we decided to go exploring. We ended up at the Tohono Chul Park Gardens. It was hot and almost every plant was prickly. TOTAL opposite of the Oregon Gardens.














I thought it was adorable that some cactus were shaped like hearts









It was nerve wrecking walking around the gardens. I thought that at any moment one of the kids would fall onto a cactus. If that was not bad enough we were met by these signs









We saw some of these tiny endangered fish in the stream




My sweet little Evie




Nick made the observation that the cactus looked like it was wearing a crown


The meditation garden




Evie ringing the wind chimes






Sundial. It was 1 O'clock


Desert rose


The kids area. They were given little wooden "boats" to float down the fountains


The kids were hot and tired after our visit.

I did have time to make Easter treats. I made yellow cake cupcakes. frosted them and then used really cute sprinkles called "Easter egg hunt" It looks like grass and colorful Easter eggs scattered all over the cupcake. I then topped it with a Bunny shaped marshmallow.

super cute

Happy 30th Birthday to Me!

So what does a gal do for her big 3-o birthday?











ROAD TRIP.............Well, sort of.


We made the big move from Oregon to Arizona. It was a very interesting drive. We drove over rivers, next to snowy mountains, rocky mountains, through fragrant orange orchards and stinky cow farms, by fields of GIANT wind harvesting wind mills in the desert and to the land of cactus!

I actually got to spend my birthday morning with my family in California. We stopped there along the way to drop off some stuff and to say Hi to the familia. My brother in law Jarom came along and he has been a huge help.

Here's an interesting treat we tried along the way



Yes, the BACON MAPLE SUNDAY. Its available at Denny's. Joe just had to have one. I had a taste and it was not bad. but I'm a bacon lover.


The maple syrup was in the bottom. I was not to sure about that. maple syrup and ice cream do not mix.

And what road trip isn't complete without car trouble? yep. Driving from California to Arizona my AC broke and then my car started overheating. We had to switch out cars, you see, I was driving my SUV and Joe was driving the Uhaul and hauling his truck. We ended up switching my car for his truck.




The kids seeking some shade


See the palm trees in the back? Sophie calls them pom pom trees :)



So that's how I spent my birthday weekend.

Our First Arizona moon


Beautiful

When Mommy doesn't want to bake

We go out for dessert!!! Most of our kitchen is packed up since we are moving very soon to Arizona and we were all craving some sweets.

One of our favorite places to eat is Sherry's they have really good coffee and almost every type of pie.




Best pie ever, peanut butter chocolate silk.

Portland Japanese Gardens.

We had a small break from the rain here in Oregon so we headed out to the Portland Japanese Garden. It was cold and damp but that did not stop us. Living here in Oregon for almost 5 years, we got use to the rain.








Everything is so green in Oregon, a very unusual shade of green almost neon.


See?

everything is also covered in moss.








Miss stubborn did not want to wear a sweater today but upon getting to the garden she complained she was cold so she ended up wearing my sweater.


Oh and look! a SMILE from miss Sophie, this is a VERY RARE occasion.






Zen Garden









Prayers for the victims of the Japanese Earthquake




We had the pleasure to see Ikebana, the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. ikebana arrangement follows a fixed pattern: a triangle of three points representing heaven, earth, and man.







My little guy is so handsome.

To stay in the Japanese spirit, we made bentos. A Bento is 
a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine

Arent' these cute. Got the Princess ones from the Disney Store and the robot one at Borders.





rice, teriyaki chicken and green beans.