No School = Zoo Day!!

I have this problem where I feel an immense amount of guilt if I don't take the kids (specifically Ella) to do something super fun on Holidays or vacation days when she has no school. I just feel bad that we spent our days doing things like this when she was younger, and now that she has this "daily grind" of school 5 days a week she gets to do them much less. So she chose the Zoo and off we went today along with 6 million other people in our city. Great!

Today we had our friend Rachel join us for the day. We started with a breakfast of hot chocolate, orange juice, donuts and fruit :)



Next we headed to the zoo. I didn't take a ton of pics at the zoo, but I got a good amount. We started out at The Stingrays. This was the first time we went in to pet them and the girls tried but got a little spooked at times. Next we headed over to the koi fish pond.



Our friends Kim, Kendall and Kiera joined us at the zoo today. Yay! We saw the Elephants first.



We saw the Orangutangs (our favorite!!)



We took a break for lunch and to play in the caves before we saw the monkeys!







We saw a few more animals before saying goodbye to our friends. Then it was time for the carousel!







Striking a pose on our way out of the zoo ;)



This was how we spent most of our day and I got a good workout!

A Supermom wears many hats

Yes, it's true... as Super Mom I wear many hats. But in this case, I mean it literally. There is nothing more fun that trying on silly hats with your littles and having a photo shoot. As you can see by how many pics there are and how many different clothes and hairstyles we have, this is something we do often. I recommend it.













Funny faces, duck lips and fashion model poses are a must :)

10 in 10 for 2012

I start off every New Year with my 10 in 10 list. 4 years ago I was inspired by the movie The Bucket List to make a list of things I hoped to do, see, accomplish in my life time. The whole idea behind 10 in 10 is that a bucket list can seem a little overwhelming. Especially as you get older and realize you are STILL not crossing anything off it. So the 10 in 10 was a way for me to narrow down my list. I choose 10-20 of the things I think I can REASONABLY accomplish in the next 10 years and then see how many I can cross off.

Just making the list makes you motivated to cross the stuff off. Almost like once you touch the pen to paper or type the letters on the keypad, these tasks, trips, and goals don't seem just like an idea anymore. They seem like a calling. They take on a life of their own. At least for me. So I've actually been crossing more than one off a year and hope to keep doing so. Especially since my bucket list is pretty long. :)

PS: the list changes every year as I cross things off and as I am inspired to add new things to it. :) Here are my newest 10 in 10 for 2012 followed by the items I have crossed off my bucket list in the last couple years...

1. Learn to sew (2012?)
2. A tropical vacation (2012?)
3. Volunteer in my community (2012?)
4. Try rollerblading for the first time (2012?)
5. Swan boat ride and duck tour in Boston (2012?)
6. Picnic/horse and carriage ride in Central Park
7. Take my girls to Fenway Park
8. Sky Dive
9. Work on a house for Habitat for Humanity
10. Snorkeling in Australia
11. Go back to Hawaii
12. Visit Chicago
13. Visit Seattle
14. Go to Atlantis in the Bahamas...
15. Ride a tandem bike with my hubby
16. Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride
17. Go ice skating again
18. Renew my vows in Italy
19. Take some cooking classes
20. Go to Europe

Crossed off the list:
Have another Baby (2008)
Become a Brunette (2009)
Complete a Triathlon (2009)
Start a side-Business from home (2009)
Renew my Wedding Vows (2009)
Get really into fitness (2009/2010)
Go Skiing for the FIRST time (2010)
Get on the Bone Marrow Donor Registry (2010)
Become a runner (2010)
Run a Half Marathon (2010)
Take a photography workshop (2010)
Donate my hair to patients with cancer (2010)
Take my children to Disney (2011)
Take my kids to Polar Express (2011)
Buy a bike (2011)

Happy 30th Birthday to Me ;)

I had a great birthday this year! Which is fitting since it was such a big one :) First, some of my best girl friends came over with their kiddos to spend the morning with me and have coffee. It was so nice to catch up, since we hadn't seen each other much in the last couple weeks due to the Holidays. The kids played great (for the most part) and we hung out till after 1pm!

Afterwards I had some errands to run, and when we got home Daddy had a surprise waiting for us :)



The girls had never seen a balloon that big and they were thrilled. I told them not to hold it or they would float away and they believed me ha ha! He also had these beautiful flowers waiting for me :)



And this yummy Oreo Cookie Cake :) (more for the girls sake then mine)



My babies were so excited to sing me Happy Birthday and all three of us got a turn to blow out the candles.




Our babysitter was there to snap this picture before Daddy and I snuck out the door :)



Daddy and I headed off to Cantina Laredo at San Tan Mall for some appetizers.



Then we headed to FROST (my new addiction)



MMMMmmmm... Sea Salt Caramel (amazing)



Here was my FREE gelato for my birthday! How cute with 4 cookies to look like candles :) (PHONE PIC SUCKS)



Next we were off to the movies to see New Years Eve! It was so cute. We both really liked it. Made me laugh, made me cry. I loved it!



The next night I went out with some girlfriends and we decided to hit a karaoke night at a restaurant. I had not been to Karaoke in years and thought it was something different compared to what we usually do :) It wasn't a big turnout but it never is with a Christmas time birthday. Oh well. We had a great time anyway!



We did some singing and got two scared to death karaoke rookies to get up and sign.



And boy did they! :) (check out the fist pumps)



And can we talk about this girl for a minute? She is such a good friend to me. She showed up with a gift, cupcakes, Happy Birthday crowns for everyone to wear and just the best attitude ever!



She is so good to me and even brought me her daughter's tiara and forced me to wear it for most of the night! :) I just love her. Thanks to EVERY one of you beautiful ladies who came out to help me celebrate!! You guys are awesome! And now let's talk about my karaoke experience shall we?? ah-hemm...

First I get up to sing one of my favorite songs Lucky, by Jason Mraz. The KJ asks me if I want to sing it as a duet (Colby Collait style). I say sure, but shortly realize that I always sing it alone and couldn't remember what was the boy part and the girl part. So of course I start singing over the wrong parts. But whatever. It was because I need to get glasses and couldn't see the screen from so far away so I also couldn't see the blue and pink that distinguished the two parts. Oh and did I mention when I got up to sing this (shaking like a leaf) I had to follow my friend Sarah who sang a song from the Broadway hit show Chicago. This song was theatrical, belted out, and reminded me of Mother Knows Best from Tangled. And she killed it. And I had to follow her???... awesome :/

Then for my second song I chose Telephone from Lady Gaga which was fun until I ran out of breath cause I thought I could sign and dance. Nope. Now I know why they lip sing in concerts. ha ha.

My last song was 'Criminal' by Fiona Apple. It was actually my best, and I am pretty sure I killed it. BUT, I had to go after this girl Amanda that joined us later. I asked before she went up if she was any good, since I knew I was going after her. She says "I like to sing". Well she gets up and sings 'Someone Like You' by Adele. Not only does she sing the CRAP out of this song but she completely changes parts of it. Adds her own melody to it, changes notes. So much so that I liked her version better than Adele's. $%^& balls. While I am listening to her cringing over the fact that I have to sing after her, a friend tells me from across the table that she auditioned for American Idol. Yeah you know, that girl that "like(s) to sing". FML. Anyway, long story short, having to follow Adele, gave me the courage to step up my game and the end result was my best performance of the night. Maybe that is the secret to Karaoke? To just belt it out, be brave, no that it is ok to crack your voice or miss a note, cause hey professional singers do too don't they? Isn't that why they have to record the same versus and chorus over and over and over in the studio till they get the perfect one. Well she may have gone home with the Karaoke Crown that night, but thanks to Trish's daughter Summer, I had a REAL one for my birthday. Take that Adele!!!



Anyway, can't wait to go out again to Karaoke. I am going to start practicing and upping my game ASAP, ha ha ha!!! ;)