Phoenix Zoo

Saturday morning Thomas, Hayden, Brooklyn, Brigham, Talmage and I headed out for the Phoenix Zoo. We were so glad to meet Katie there. We had such an amazing time!

Brigham, Brooklyn and Hayden rode a camel and loved it!
Talmage and Briggy were so cute riding in the stroller. Talmage kept crawling out. He wanted to walk and see it all. When he saw the first animal, a giraffe, he was soooo excited and just squealing. Too cute!
Talmage, being such a great escape artist, we had to keep him from trying to get on the inside of the cages. This kid is so cute but has so much energy!
Thomas and Talmage. He wanted down so bad and to climb up. We just held him to keep him safe.
Talmage Loved loved Loved the goats. He tried riding them, he kissed their bums, he brushed them and absolutely attacked them. He loved it and didn't want to leave. He definitely thought that was the best part of his day!
Katie, Brooklyn, Hayden and Brigham. I don't know how we would have done it without Katie. She was such a good sport and took Brooklyn and Hayden when they were tired of waiting for us or Brigham and Talmage. We loved spending time with her.
I still can't believe that these kiddos lasted almost 5 hours at the zoo! It was fun and they were exhausted when they got home. We had a lot of great moments and truly enjoyed the day!

Jodi's Kiddos

Jodi and Troy took off to Hawaii and left me with their three wonderful kiddos. We had a great time together with lots of adventures.

Children's Museum, tire blowout, McDonald's, Phoenix Zoo, Trampoline time, Painting, 3 Movie Nights, lots of cuddles, Garfield cake from Grandma Julie, visits with Katie and tons of fun!

I love Brigham's face in this pictures. We waited for Talmage to go to sleep to eat cake!
Cute little Talmage was a sheer joy, as always!
I sure love these kiddos. I have a lot more respect and admiration for Jodi after having these kiddos. They sure are busy and kept us on our toes. Good kids, but we had many, many breathing treatments, constant sippy cups, lots of diapers, and making different meals for kiddos. I forgot how busy having a little toddler can be. Good thing he is so cute and so much fun!

Children's Art Museum

Talmage and Hayden loved these little chairs that spun in circles. Hayden loved that he could shut the world out. Talmage loved climbing in and out. So fun!
Brigham was most impressed with the NASA space center and loved dressing up and playing with all the space shuttle and NASA exhibits.
All 4 kiddos loved the Ipads and loved creating different artwork on the ipads.
Finger-painting with the ink pads was a hit. Did I mention that Talmage got into EVERYTHING! He was one busy little guy at this place. Hayden and Brigham loved everything they did, each activity, and wanted to stay at each place for an extended period of time. Brooklyn and Talmage wanted to hurry from one activity to the next. Their personalities sure shone through. Hayden and Brigham love whatever they are doing and are content and don't like to move on to the next thing. Too funny and cute their distinctive different personalities.
Hayden and Brooklyn loved this science experiement where you had to line up these containers, get them to stick and try different experiments to get the ball to travel in different ways. Definitely a huge hit with these two.
We had a great time! I was so proud of all four kiddos and them sticking together and helping keep tabs on Talmage. They had such a great time! I loved spending Friday morning with them at the Children's museum. I just may have pulled them all out of school...oops. But we had such a great time!

Art Projects

The kiddos wanted to do art projects so we headed to Toys R Us... Brooklyn bought a treasure chest to pain, Hayden a train set and Brigham, he wanted a motorcycle and agreed to pain rocks. They absolutely loved it and it kept them entertained while Talmage was taking a nap.
Hayden wanted me to post a pictures of his train, however, I didn't take any final project pics only mid-way. He did a great job!

Katie

We loved having Katie at the zoo with us. I remember taking Katie to the zoo with Tyler and Josh when they were young. I can't believe that now she is taking my kiddo to the zoo. All the kids love her and how sweet she is. We definitely need to spend more time with Katie!

Makayla

Little missy Makayla, 5 years old, is in the fight of her life. She has been hospitalized since right after Christmas. She is in critical condition now in ICU. Each day she is getting sicker and the doctors are absolutely baffled. My heart breaks for her, her parents, Bonnie and my dad, and all of her aunts/uncles.

I sure love this little girl. She is Bonnie's oldest granddaughter, on her side of the family. She is loved by all of us. She is usually the spunkiest, happiest, craziest 5 year old girl. It is so sad that she is so sick that she can't walk. She is swollen, running a 105 degree fever, and has all types of infections. The surgeries haven't helped. She continues to get sicker every day.

My heart breaks for her. I always get scared being in the hospital but the length of time and the unknown cause of her sickness have to be more than her parents can bear. My heart and love goes out to all of them. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated! Poor little miss! We will have to have a huge party for her when she gets out.

Josh's house

Sunday night, all the Simonton's headed to Josh and Steph's house for food, family fun and games. We played a fun game where you put in famous people's names and then one by one, you draw the name and have to describe them and get people to say their name... guys against girls. It was fun. It is so fun that the little Simonton's are now old enough to play games. It is fun to enjoy the time together with our kids.

I am the luckiest girl on earth for having been blessed with my siblings! I sure love them! I wish JD lived close and could always be with us! What a fun fun night!

Ashlee Farewell

Ashlee, Tracy and Treyson are moving to Idaho. We sure have enjoyed them being down here but Tracy was transferred back to Idaho for work. I get to see Ashlee and Treyson a lot because they have lived with my dad since before Christmas and the first year they moved here. Little Treyson runs in almost every day yelling, Aunt Jer.... and then proceeds to tell me about the toy or DS game he is playing. I will definitely miss that.

We had a girls lunch out and took Ashlee out to Ah-So, one of my favorite restaurants, for her farewell lunch. It was Jodi, Ashlee, Suzi, Bonnie, Alyssa, Katie, Kaela and Treyson. We had fun all chatting and hanging out.

We will miss you, Ashlee. Family parties won't be the same without you. But, I do hope that you enjoy and love living in Idaho!

JD

JD had to come down to take a test on Monday. He flew in Saturday, went to lunch with Dad and Jake and then they asked him what he wanted to do. His response, "Go see my sisters." What a good brother. Jake and JD came over while me and Jodi were getting ready for the party. They weren't much help but they did keep us laughing the entire time they were here. I am the luckiest girl to have been blessed with such wonderful brothers and an amazing sister. I love any minute we can get together and just talk. They are seriously my best friends. I sure enjoy spending time with them!

I feel so lucky to have such incredible siblings! I sure love them!

A Minute to Win It

Jodi comes up with amazing party ideas.... she did not disappoint at Suzi's birthday. She did "A Minute to Win it" party and games. Everyone got in to it and loved it! You have one minute to do a variety of tasks and gain points. We split into three teams and boy did it get competitive.

This one, JD, Julie and Thomas all had to step on streamers, hold the ends and unravel as fast as possible... the video is much better. There were streamers going everywhere and they unraveled the streamers so quickly!
Putting a cookie on your eye and rolling it down your face, using your face muscles and getting it into your mouth was a favorite of Jake's. He and JD spent the afternoon with me and Jodi getting ready for the party and practicing eating cookies. They had me and Jodi rolling in laughter!
Dad, Alyssa and Josh trying to stack cups... too funny! All of their cups fell and they had to start over. Josh dominated this one.
Jerry, Jodi, JD and Jodi... obviously JD took 1st place in blowing the cups over with air. We knew he would, he definitely has hot air to spare. :-) I love you, JD!
Thomas, Troy and Josh. They had to put their nose in vaseline, get a cottonball on it and shake it off in another bowl. The first to five was the winner.....not that we are competitive put they pulled the video camera out to see if Thomas or Josh had actually won.
Dad and Jake- I totally think they cheated at unrolling the toilet paper. Jake insisted it was just he had more surface space than the girls, therefore could get the toilet paper around his body quicker!
Suzi, Ashlee and Vaughn having to undo a kleenex box with one hand, not touching the box. Vaughn's fell on the floor and he kept going!

Everyone really got into the games and had fun playing. It turned out to be such a fun party! Jodi, you did an amazing job on the games! I think everything turns out better with Jodi's magic touch! Fun fun night! Happy Birthday, Suzi!

Suzi's Surprise 40th Birthday Party

Jodi and I threw Suzi a surprise 40th birthday party, 2 weeks before her actual birthday. Since both of them were going to Hawaii for a week, we were having trouble coordinating times. I can say that Jodi throws better parties than anyone I have ever met.... she should have been a professional party planner. It was the funnest event. I think we surprised Suzi and I think she realized how very much she is loved and cared about by so many people. I love this picture of the three of us. Bestest buddies for such a long, long time!
Suzi doesn't eat sweets so Jodi made her her favorite cheeseball to put the candles in. Too cute and she loved it. A huge cheeseball all to herself. Yum!
Me and Suzi! I can't believe we have been friends for almost 17 years.
So many people showed up to Suzi's party... All the Simonton's, including JD, most of the Bair's, and a lot of people that work with Suzi. It was fun! All in all about 35 people showed up to show Suzi that they love and care about her.
Talk about food, yummy yummy food. Jodi made homemade salsa, green chili burritos, homemade cheeseball, from scratch chocolate cupcakes... all amazingly yummy! I had Suzi's favorite chicken enchiladas waiting and all kinds of goodies and snacks. The food was a hit and there was sooooo much left over!
I love standing back and just watching people interact. I have fun seeing others smile and enjoying themselves.
Julie, Suzi and Jodi Lewis. This was right after Suzi walked in. She is so funny. She called from my front door and asked why it was soooo incredibly noisy inside. Her exact words, "What have you done?" Too funny. It took Jake and JD about 10 minutes to convince her to walk inside.
Happy 40th Birthday, Suzi! Welcome to the club. It isn't bad. Actually it has been great! You are very loved and I hope you felt that at your party. There are so many of us that truly love you and care about you!

Hiking Belt Loop

Suzi took Hayden and Chase up to Camelback Mountain hiking so that the boys could earn their hiking belt loop. They LOVED it! I sure love this picture of my boy. I smile because he is playing in the dirt. I honestly think that boy would dig in dirt anywhere and anytime... probably his favorite past time.
I love how good of buddies Hayden and Chase are. They sure are great friends. They love that they get to pass off cub scout badges, belt loops and pins together.
Hayden was so proud of himself for making it to the top of the mountain.
Thanks, Suzi for taking Hayden and teaching him the love of hiking. He is so excited that he earned another belt loop for scouts!

Talmage Slumber Party

Talmage was driving Jodi crazy and crying at her feet when I dropped Brooklyn off. She was getting ready for the Pinewood derby the next day and Suzi's surprise party. So, I scooped up Talmage and off he came for a slumber party.

I love that when Jodi came to pick him up on Saturday at 10am, he didn't want to go with her. In fact,all three of Jodi's kids wanted to stay. I love that they love me and Thomas and Hayden. We sure love them and all of the joy they bring to our lives. Seriously, how could you not adore that little face????

Disney On Ice

Jake bought tickets for me, Thomas and Hayden to go to Disney on Ice with him, Kiley and Katelyn. The kids were so excited to go and to be together. They were so cute. I absolutely LOVE this picture of the three kids waiting to go inside.
I love Disney on Ice.... my heart beats everytime I see Mickey Mouse. He was my first true love. Watching it with Thomas is always fun. He loves my enthusiasm. I was so surprised when Baloo from Jungle Book came out. I call Thomas "Baloo". He is so him. He scratches his back, sings, dances and has Baloo's always positive, you can do it, attitude. It was great! All the kids yelled when Baloo came out! Seriously, the kids thought they were there for me, not them. Too cute!
Grandpa and Grandma Bonnie had given Brooklyn tickets for Christmas. We were seriously right behind them. Jake was disappointed that Grandpa had front row tickets and we were in the 2nd row. Those boys are seriously competitive. Hayden sure loves his Grandpa. (And, loved that Grandpa bought him popcorn.)
Grandpa loves to be a kid at heart and sure loved Brooklyn's Mickey ears.
Brooklyn, Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa. They sure had a fun night out. Brooklyn ran over to tell me all about it. She also opted to come home with me afterwards. What a good girl.
The Disney on Ice celebration.
Katelyn, Kiley, Brooklyn, me and Hayden

I sure love all these kiddos. My favorite part of the night is that Kiley, just cuddled up under the blanket with me and watched the show with her head on my shoulder. She is such a cuddly little girl. Out of all my nieces/nephews, she hasn't been the biggest Aunt Jer fan, so it was especially fun to get to spend quality time with her. I treasured it.
Uncle Jake... Hayden worships him. He thinks that Uncle Jake is one of the greatest people on earth. I appreciate how good Jake is to Hayden, me and Thomas. He always goes out of his way to play with and give Hayden attention. Hayden loves it! I certainly appreciate it! Plus, we loved spending the evening with Jake and two of his girls!
Funny story about Hayden. As we were walking in, the sign said, "No outside food or beverages." Hayden said, "Mom, did you see that? You need to take the treats out of your purse and put them back in the car."

Me: "Hayden the treats are SO expensive in there. I paid for treats and will buy you a snowcone ($15) but other than that, you will have to eat the treats I am bringing in."

Hayden: "Mom, I will choose to obey the rules, make better decisions and not do anything wrong. Wrong is always wrong... isn't that right?"

AUGH. He had me there. Hayden refused to eat any of the snacks that I brought while we were inside. Once back to the car, he indulged. My boy... there is no gray. Only black and white and I clearly broke the rules. I hope he continues to keep all the rules not just the easy or ones he thinks are important. I sure love my boy!
Thanks, Jake for a wonderful family outing. We sure loved it and had a wonderful time!

Horseback Riding Lessons

Suzi gave Hayden horseback riding lessons for his birthday. We finally started them. Hayden absolutely loved it! I really like his instructor. She is so good with Hayden. She said he was a natural on the horse and really bonded with him. That doesn't surprise me, that kid absolutely LOVES animals and connects with them immediately. He can't wait to start each week.As Hayden first got on the horse, he screeched. The instructor asked what was wrong and Hayden replied, "My legs. What is it doing to them?" The instructor laughed and said, "It is fine. They are called muscles and they will stretch. Not a big deal." Too funny! Then he was fine, just had never felt leg muscles stretching before. What a boy!
He was so funny when he got off. He said, "I need a bath. My legs are so sore." He came home, took a bath and was in bed by 7pm. So tired and worn out but absolutely in heaven. He loves loves loves the horses and that he gets to ride them weekly! Great present, Suzi!

Girls Night

While the boys were at Motorcross, Jodi, Talmage, Suzi, Katelyn and Kiley came to keep me company. We played Dummy Rummy, Sequence and watched movies. It has been a long time since we played cards. We had a lot of fun! Thanks girls for keeping me company! We need to do that more often!

Motorcross

Thomas took Hayden to the Motorcross races at Chase Field. Hayden was so excited to go with his dad and all the Davis. He was so excited that TJ and Brody were there, too!
Brigham, Brooklyn and Hayden - They loved going down to the pit to see the cars.
Hayden and Brigham both loved the earphones to drown out the noise. They did much better without all the noise. Fantastic purchase.
Hayden on the motorcycle!


Hayden couldn't stop talking about how much fun he had with his dad and all of his friends at this event! I am glad they had such a great time!