My Little Dolphin

Owyn started his Dolphin swimming lessons on Monday. 

Lets just say, it didn't go as I imagined it would.

This kid loves anything to do with water, especially swimming. 

I guess I didn't think about how he would be going in the pool with a complete stranger. 

He cried the entire time. It was pretty sad. I wanted to cry as he was reaching for me the entire 30 minutes balling his eyes out.  

The women at the school say they all cry. They also say that the second class is the worst. Well, that's something to look forward to. I couldn't help but take full advantage of his sadness, because when this kid is sad he loves to cuddle. So, I think we'll go back ;)

Have I Mentioned the Good News?

My sister moved back from Nashville with her family! 

AAHHHHHH! 

It's like my life just got 20x better. 

I get to see my niece and my sister any day I want! 

My mom helped them with the drive across country and she stayed with us the past couple days. It felt so good being together just us gals again. 

{ Grand-Jen and Riley Jo}

Is she not the cutest thing??

Only because I'm impatient.

I wanted to share Dave's fathers day gift with you.

It's not complete yet, but I just couldn't wait, because I'm so excited. Mostly because he is. 

I gave him a band room make-over!

We stayed up until 12am painting. I don't stay up that late for anything other than Mad Men. But, Dave let me listen to Brittany Spears to keep me up. There was some serious booty shakin' goin on in that room. I woke up with Owyn around 7:30 and guess who was already up and in their room taking down tape? Yep, you guessed it! Mr. Dave. He hasn't left the room all day. 

 

We took the bed out of the room and moved it to Owyn's room. Now, he thinks it's his. 

I caught him chillin' out on the bed (with one leg resting on the other of course), watching the bougainvillea brush up against his window with TMNT playing in the background. He is so serious sometimes. He reminds me of an 80 year old man. 

Happy Fathers Day Weekend!

We have BIG plans to celebrate Fathers Day. 

Sadly, I won't see my dad, but I will see him soon! 

I can't wait to show you what I planned for Dave. I had a hard time thinking of the perfect gift. I know he want's several new guitars and a banjo, but I always get him music related stuff. And finally, it hit me. The perfect way to show our appreciation of his excellency in fatherhood.

 

{Story time with Owyn. I love how he rests him left leg over his right. He does it every time. It reminds me of my dad. 9 times out of 10 you can catch my dad like this chillin' on the couch}

I don't see him, but I sure can smell him!

 

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

City Lovin' {Part 2}

Vinyl Rush Cafe

An adorable new coffee shop opened up down the street from us and from my work. 

It's the sweetest little place hidden within down-town Mesa. 

 
The service is great and the woman who runs it is very friendly. 

Check it out!  

Go get yourself an espresso and your young ones a blueberry smoothie or delicious danish and stroll over to the Museum of Natural History to see dinosaurs and the old jail house.

 

Steak > Chicken

I had a problem with dinners last week. 

Out of nowhere Dave decided he doesn't like chicken. 

We have chicken 4-5x a week. This is a problem. 

Who on earth doesn't like chicken?

And I've been cooking for this man for years now and he's just telling me this? 

His reasoning is exactly this: steak > chicken. 

What a weirdo. 

Chicken only appears once (or twice, I can't help it! it's chicken!) in this weeks meal plan. 

He said it's okay if its in something or has sauce, so I think I added it into a salad. 

Tonight we had kabobs with a penne salad. 

Kabobs:

organic beef 

zucchini 

red bell pepper 

mushrooms 

Penne Salad: 

penne 

raw asparagus 

raw green bell pepper 

cherry tomatoes 

arugula

ricotta cheese 

red wine vinigar 

olive oil

pine nuts 

The salad was really good. Easy, simple and healthy. Just the way I like my meals. 

I got the recipe inspiration from this months issue of Martha's FOOD magazine page 83, but I changed a few things.

Weekend Archived by Crappy Phone Pictures

How was your weekend??

I sure hope it was better than mine.

I worked 20 hours this weekend and it sucked. To say the least. 

Have I mentioned that I hate my new job? Well, I do. The job is great and I love being with kids all day but the people I work with.. are, well, not so great. I can go on and on about it but Ill save it for another day. 

On Friday afternoon Owyn and I went on a date down-town. MCA (where I interned) had an opening reception for 2 new exhibits and so we stopped by for some catered food, friends and wonderful art. It's so strange going in there and seeing art on the walls that I did not install or have anything to do with. It actually breaks my heart. Especially when they are such great works like these ones!

After the reception we continued our journey down Main Street for Second Friday to view local art. I am on a mission to FILL my house with original one-of-a-kind artworks. 

We ended the night with a pizza party. It was perfect. 

Some other highlights of the weekend:

- getting a giant Lite-Brite at work 

- selling my adorable vintage bed frame for way more than what I snagged it up for

-discovering an underground discounted art gallery!

- breakin' out Owyn little pool

City Lovin'

What does your drive home look like? 

For some strange reason, I decided to photograph mine. 

Don't worry, taking pictures while driving is totally legal and safe.

Before moving to Mesa, we were a little worried about the hood. It turns out that it's really quite nice, and becoming pretty hip if I don't say so myself. We have lovely neighbors and I love the character of the buildings and homes that surround us.

Some of my favorite Mesa locations include:

Antique Plaza

Mangos Mexican Cafe

Blue Adobe Grille 

Sweet Cakes Cafe 

Inside the Bungalow

Mesa Arts Center

Stalling

I have a lot to post about, but every time I sit down and open my computer to begin a post I get distracted. We have been very busy around here. 

Between family snuggles, wedding planning, work and random projects, there's only time for Mad Men at night.