Play Time

There were bad guys in a hotel, so the police obtained a package. The package was filled with guns, to help them protect the people. The ice cream shop got a similar package, but their package was star-shaped and contained swords. They needed to defend the ice-cream.

This is "Red Fire Grouchy." He was pretending to be good, but he was really a mischief maker. He kept flying around and knocking things over. And he kept calling me "Jamie."

A metal tub of mud was placed in front of the hotel to stop the villains. When that no longer worked, Yoda was brought in to use the force.

His back-up was a small dinosaur.

Are you ready to see what the bad guys looked like? Get ready to look into the face of pure evil. Or not. The choice is yours. (This is a shot of a bad guy getting stuck in the mud pit.)

After the threat was neutralized, Asher ran a race. You know, with his fingers. He declared himself the winner, and this cake was his prize. (That is Gwen's hand in the shot.)

I probably don't play with him as much as I should, but when I take the time to watch him, he amazes me. His imagination is awesome. He can take the first seven things he sees off the top of his toy box and create a world. And he wants me to live in that world with him. And that makes me so happy, even if he does call me "Jamie" when we are there.

My Funny Valentines

The following is an excerpt from a conversation Asher and I had in the car two days ago on the way back from the gym:

Me: It is a very nice day today, isn't it?

Asher: Yeah. But I wish I was up in the clouds.

Me: Why? What would you do up in the clouds?

Asher: Well... I would walk. And jump. And I would get a stick and play with the clouds. There are a LOT of things I could do in the clouds, Mom.

Me: I suppose so. What do you think the clouds feel like?

Asher: Um...puffy! And also squishy....

I love this boy who wishes he could play in the clouds. This boy who opens his mouth to taste the wind, and says it "tastes of cold." This boy who runs up and hugs me, and simply says the word "Love!" when I hug him back. This boy who says "elf-cuts" when he can't think of the word "dwarves" and "Chubby Archer Baby" when he can't remember Cupid's name.

He makes me smile every day. Every day.

And then there is this girl. This girl who puts her hands on her hips and strikes poses. This girl who needs to approve of every outfit and pair of pajamas that go on her body. This girl who needs to wear a "dancer" almost every day. This girl who is obsessed with Kipper the dog. (Her brother quotes full episodes in British accents.) This girl who tells me her baby dolls are crying, then proceeds to rock them and sing "Baby Mine, don't you cry." This girl who dances and sings and asks for cheese and berries and to go to the park.

I also have a fantastic husband who made us heart shaped pancakes in the morning and then went out to get us Panda Express on V-day so that I didn't have to worry about dinner. It was a busy day full of preschool and piano/voice lessons and life. But one thing remains, I love my family. Every day.

CO-OP

Saturday was co-op day. And even though we didn't have enough participants this time to require two drivers, I went down to the warehouse anyway. My friend Stephanie wanted to go, so that is just what we did. She says that next Saturday she is taking me to an awesome farmer's market. I can't wait!

The next 3 pics are actually from a month ago, but it is the same experience. In the front area of the warehouse there are two windows where you do business and pay your bill. Lining this area are a bunch of single products. You normally have to pay for everything by the flat or crate or whatever... but these products are sold separately. They also have things like jars of honey and olive oil, and sometimes bread and tortillas. The leaders of our co-op never get these extra treats for the masses, but they can do a little extra grocery shopping for themselves while they are here.

And they normally do.

The prices and availability on everything changes from week to week. This week there were boxes labeled "tropical pack" that contained 2 mangos, a coconut, 4 oranges, a pack of mint, a plantain, four limes, and a pineapple... all for 8 bucks.

Above is a picture of where the trucks get loaded up. That is our pallet in the foreground, but it just gets taken down the ramp to our car(s) and loaded on by the helpful and ever-changing staff.

These are the filled baskets. $17 buys you a different pack of produce every 2 weeks.

This week, I mentioned that I was with Stephanie... and we were driving around what were apparently her old stomping grounds. She used to work at SkyMall; you know, the magazine you leaf through while you are flying in every plane to any destination? Well, come to find out they are based in Phoenix in a very sketchy neighborhood, right around the corner from our warehouse. And since she worked there, she happens to know all about the local cuisine.

Stephanie suggested we stop by Carolinas for some Machaca burritos. The place is pretty run down. (That is how you know your food will be excellent.)

Here is Steph holding her horchata. I had some too. It tasted like there were red hots inside. In a good way. And the burritos were drippy and so yummy.

The burritos made us slightly late for the food pick-up. Oops. But I didn't feel bad. We had too much fun for that. Sigh. I'll miss you Stephanie when you MOVE to the CARIBBEAN.