Pre-k Halloween Party

First parent teacher meeting

This Thursday I had the most unconventional first parent teacher I could ever expect. Got to the school  just around 3 PM, went into Maile's class, almost ready to sit down with the teacher when all of sudden we hear on the interphone: " All teachers, staff and students please procede to evacuating the school premises".

I thought I saw a bunch of fire trucks pull into the parking lot, just before heading in...I guess that should've told me right then and there something was wrong.
So, I invited Mrs. Gleason to take a seat in my car as we discussed a little bit about Maile's progress in school.
The good news is, Maile is doing GREAT and both her daddy and I could not be prouder. She already knew so much going into this Pre-k program and she is making progress every day.
On the other hand, we also found out that the school is fine and that it was just a small sewer leak that caused everyone to panic.
Better safe then sorry, though.

Here is a peak at Maile's 1st report card.

Way to go, love!

Field Trip to Schnepf Farms

Yesterday, I got to take both girls on a field trip to Schnepf Farms. It was a trip with Maile's school, but I was able to also bring Audrey along. Daddy had to work unfortunately, so he missed out on some of the fun.
We were there for the 1st time, even though the farm is so close to us. For the past 3 years I believe , me and my friends from the mom's club have been trying to go there and every year even as the end of October approached it still seemed too hot to go.

Yesterday was different. We woke up to a very refreshing mid 60s temperature. The girls got to see their friends from school and had so much fun.

I had no idea the farm was so big, much bigger than even Freeman Farms. They had tons of rides. The girls favorite was the airplane ride...the least favorite was the roller coaster. Unfortunately, I am part to blame for that one. It sure seemed pretty harmless from the ground but once we got on, it was quite shaky and way taller than I thought. Plus we were at an odd number, too so the girls had to sit together while I sat behind them.
Maile started crying during the roller coaster ride, but once we got off she was better. Another airplane ride later, she had forgotten all about the roller coaster.

I also packed our lunch so we sat down with out friends and had a nice picnic outdoors.
Before we left, the girls also got to pick one pumpkin each which they were so excited to share with their daddy later that night.

We ended up leaving the farm around 1.30 PM. The girls were barely dragging their feet. By the time we got in the car, 2 seconds later Audrey was fast asleep. Maile followed about 10 min later.
We got home and we all laid down for some much needed rest before we had to head out again later that night.

Centennial Elementary was having a pumpkin lighting/early Halloween celebration that the girls got to wear their costumes too. I guess they were supposed to head out candy but I didn't see anybody do that. We just played with some of our friends some more and watched " It's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown" in the school cafeteria.

All in all, another long but very fun day this week.

I love rain!!!!

Love it, love it love it...especially in the dessert where it hardly ever rains. I can't get enough of it. I absolutely love this time of the year where it's just starting to get cool enough that you can start layering clothes, you can start thinking about a cup of hot chocolate...yumm...
I love cozying up with my loved ones any day, but especially on a rainy day.

I love rain!!

I didn't take the picture above, but these are from the drive home yesterday, two separate rainbows...

Girl's Night Out

Wonderful night last night with a bunch of really AMAZING ladies. Great drinks, great food, great company...couldn't get better!!

Thanks, ladies!

Family Day at Freeman Farms

This week we decided to take advantage of daddy's "Columbus Day" off and took the girls to a pumpkin farm. It was something we had been wanting to do with them for quite some time and every year it seems like our Octobers are so hot that it's just painful to be in the out in the sun.
So instead of taking them to one of the local farms, we decided to try out Freeman Farms up by north Prescott.
We had a really nice day...75 degrees out there, about 20 degrees cooler then Gilbert.
                                         The girls loved playing with the pumpkins.=)

They also loved the carousel rides, which they went on at least 3 times. At first Maile was a little nervous to go on without one of us by her side but by the end of the day, she was asking to go by herself and really enjoying it.

The tractors were HUGE and so much fun for both girls..

Audrey's on top of the world!!

We also went on train rides and this guy stopped the train to rob us all...he soon found out we had no money and decided to treat the kids to some lollipops instead. No way, either of the girls were gonna say no to that.=)

Both of the girls got their face painted for the first time. Audrey went with a pink horsie while....

Maile went for a beautiful little dolphin. Neither one of them was thrilled to get their face cleaned before bed that night.

We went on a 15 min hay ride around the farm. Both girls brought their best buddies along for the ride ( Maile brought her  Ariel bear while Audrey brought her pink dolly...which I carried most of the day).

The petting zoo was also a hit with the girls. This little goat was so friendly and sweet. She couldn't stop licking Maile's hand and she couldn't stop giggling the whole time she was there.

It was a great day for us as a family and Maile still talks about her wonderful "adventure" as she calls it. As a matter of fact, first thing she did when she got home, she pulled out a piece of paper and made a drawing of our fun day together.

I love family time!! I love my family with all my heart.

Snowy AZ Day

Every year, Pearson ( the company that Eric works for ) is hosting this event called: "Read for the Record" where children and teachers all over the country get to read the same book on the same day.
This year we even got Maile's teacher ( Mrs. Gleason) involved just like we did Ms. Rachel last year and the kids had so much fun being part of breaking the record.
This year's story is called " The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.

In an effort to make this even more fun for the kids Pearson decided to bring in a truck full of snow, which was not nearly enough for the huge crowd of kids that were there. Nonetheless the kids had a blast and we look forward to participate in the same event next year.

Fall into Autumn

The leaves are falling, pumpkins are all around, and the air smells crisp, it must be fall! 
Well, it was about TIME!! This summer has been probably the worst summer for me since living in AZ. 
Growing up in Romania, I was so used to having all 4 seasons and fall was definitely one of my favorite, despite the really chilly weather and the rain..I loved it.
Funny enough, every time it rains here in AZ., I am always transported back home. It reminds me of my college days, having to walk everywhere, it reminds me of Eric visiting me for the first time...
I get so excited to see rain over here ( probably because we get so little of it), I get so excited to be able to open our windows and let the fresh air come in and not have to run our AC non stop.


Recently, Eric and I have started talking about the possibility of moving from AZ in the next 2 years or so. I would hate leaving our friends behind but the summers here and my allergies are getting harder and harder on me.
Atlanta is one of the places we are considering and there is soo much that we both like about it.
Me, personally...I can't wait to have a white Christmas again, to wake up to those chilly mornings, grab a cup of hot chocolate and cozy up next to my family.
I have never been too fond of the holiday time, here in AZ..everything is so different than what I grew up with...


I am really anxious to see what the future brings for us. In the mean time I will savor this weather as much as I can because there's never enough of it in one year,if you ask me.

A day for canning

Every year around fall time, you will notice that almost any family in Romania, starts buying tons of fruits and veggies to can/preserve for the winter. This practice has been very popular especially before 1989, the year of the Romanian Revolution, when certain ingredients were very difficult to find, particularly in the winter.
I, myself grew up with my mom canning lots of things for the winter. One of the most popular recipes that I remember is one that resembles somewhat of a caponata here in the States, but perhaps not as chunky.
It involves lots of roasted bell peppers, some roasted eggplant, tomatoes, onions, carrots and whatever spices you want to add to it. Almost every housewife has their own recipe for it and yesterday I decided to go ahead and make my own.
I had prepared this before but in a much smaller batch so I was very nervous especially since I had never canned anything before.
Luckily, I had my mom to give me some pointers and of course the internet was full of suggestions as well.

I LOVED the final result and look forward to enjoying this throughout the so called AZ winter.