Babysitting: Best Deal in Town!

I just found out that my gym, Mountainside Fitness does a Lunch Bunch childcare service.

On Mondays and Wednesdays (In SE Gilbert, by the San Tan mall) and on Wednesdays in Mesa, they offer childcare from 11-2. It's $10 for the first child and $5 for each additional child. The fee includes lunch!

I did it today for the first time (I even took my niece Ella), and it worked wonderfully. For any of you who are looking for childcare in the middle of the day, it's hard to find if you don't want to bug your friends too much.

Also, I asked the staff at Mountainside and they said Lunch Bunch is open to people who aren't members of the gym as well. The childcare is pretty cool, they have a computer/gaming area, a bouncer, a movie theater, and a general play area.

Let me know if you want to go shopping with me sometime!

Hiking in the Superstitions

Two weekends ago, Mark and I took our little family hiking in the desert. We went to Usery Park which is about 20 min from our house. It was a cool spring day and we had a great time hiking up a little mountain then back down again. There was a playground at the end of the trail and we had a picnic lunch.

Here are some photos from our hike.

We'd love to do it again soon, so if you want to join us, let me know!

Easter Photos for a Friend

I saw my friend Kate at church today. Her children were all matching and very adorable. I asked her if they had taken any photos and she said no.

So, after church we spent about 30 min taking some pics down at the grassy field in our neighborhood.

It was awesome because Kate's kids are SO well-behaved and pleasant. It helped that I brought a stuffed dragon that Kate pretended was eating my head. The kids liked that a lot.

Check out the photos here.

MOAHAHAHAHA!!

It's me, Mark. I've figured how to access the family blog!! Exxxxcccellent! Now, for once, there will be a balanced account of what should be our private family life. Jessica's out with the "girls" tonight. Which, come to think of it, happens more often than not. On Friday she's going on a road trip with a friend of hers. A couple of months ago I took some time off while she flew to Utah to speak at an event and next month, I will be taking off another three days so that she can go to California again. Of course, this is on top of her week long trip to Hawaii she enjoyed last year while I tried to plan a weeks worth of activities for my three boys (in the Arizona summer mind you). Should I be worried? I don't know why I'm expecting a response. I suppose it's more rhetorical. Actually, I do notice who comments on this thing from time to time. Seems like the same people. I could just call you guys and vent.

I suppose its this uneasiness that prompted me to start my P90x program again. For the unintiated, P90x is a hard-core home workout program that, Jaxon says, "when you start you are fat, and after 90 days, you're skinny." So there I was, contemplating my wife's fast-paced lifestyle of rowdy road trips while I stared at myself in the mirror with my shirt off. Yep, fat and out of shape (unless you count "round" as a shape) there's no other way to describe it. I know Mom, you would tell me it's all muscle. Sure, I can move billions of dollars around (not my money, the state's money) but am I useful? What can I do? I don't look good in a tool belt with my shirt off. In fact, I don't know how to fix anything. I have to think that magnifies your unattractiveness in a tool belt by an order of magnitude. A couple of weeks ago I fixed a towel rack that had been broken for like two years. Took me about twenty minutes. I don't want to brag, I was like "Hey towel rack, go make me a sandwhich!" What else? At the least, I eat the leftovers. I'd like to think I add a certain pizazz. More Garfield and less Leno probably. How can I measure THAT? Hmmm, I have a lot of "intangibles". What are those anyway if not completely useless? The reason they are intangible is because there is no material benefit. You're not a contributor. On the other hand, you're not a societal detractor. That's something.

Do I like this position? No idea. Something tells me its good to ask the question. At least it motivated me to action. I completed my first workout tonight, which is part of a twelve-step program to (warning: standard business cliches coming) recalibrate and engage.

Look out Raul the pool boy, if that's even you're REAL name (apologies to anyone reading this whose name is actually Raul)! You're about to face some competition from a round man with a tool belt. Get ready for the future of America in yo' grill. I don't know why I said that last part.

February Laughs

February is all about Jaxon. I don't have a single thing for Asher and Finn and I hardly have any photos. Apparently I've been focused elsewhere these days. But, hopefully this awareness will change my behavior and I will resume documenting childhood minutia like a mommy robot.
Here's last months.

Without further ado:

7th Jaxon to me: "Mom, you look just like my daughter. Like I'm a father and you're my daughter. You look so cute in that shirt!"

8th While on the phone with my friend, Leslie, I hear her explain to her 4 year old how to partake of Fun Dip, "lick the stick, dip in powder, repeat."

10th At the hematologist clinic visit the Social Worker was trying to determine Jaxon's level of excitement to attend Camp HONOR, a summer camp for hemophilia, next year. She asked him, "When you're 8, what special thing do you get to do?" Jaxon said, "When I'm 8, I get baptized. My mom and dad told me it's a choice." Michelle responds, "Ok, what about hemophilia camp?"

11th Jaxon and I were planning to make cookies for his class for Valentine's day. I suggested he invite a friend, "You can have Cali or Melinda over to bake cookies with us." Jaxon pauses and responds, "I'll take Taven." (As if he's placing an order for neighborhood girlfriends.)

17th Jaxon says, "I love Melinda. When I grow up, I'm going to marry her. She's beautiful."

18th Jaxon plays with Melinda and as he's heading home he has a thought he wants to share so her turns around and hollers to her, "Hey Melinda. When I'm ten and you're ten, we're going to go on a DATE!" She looks back and yells, "No!" and rides away.

19th After his bath Jaxon yells, "My feet are itching! Mom, can you get someone to bite this? (gestures to his feet)."

20th This is how Jaxon plays with his brothers. He says to Finn, "You are such a little cutie, Finn!" Then to Asher he teases, "Do you want my toes? Come and get them!"

25th Jaxon says to Mark while I'm out of town: "Dad, starting now, I don't want you telling any jokes. Sometimes they don't surprise me. You should tell them to your mom."

27th While I was in D.C. Mark told the boys his life story over dinner. During the conversation Jaxon was wide-eyed and eager. When Mark finished, Jaxon blurted out, "Dad, you should tell that story to Mom!"