Just a reminder.

As a reminder playgroup in the park IS still going on every Friday at the Train Park near the elementary school. I haven't been able to attend these last two weeks but I do know other mom have gone in past. This is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and get to know other women. If you are interested we would Love to see you there.

Organ Stop - Adventure of the Week

Organ Stop Pizza is home to The Mighty Wurlitzer.

Organ Stop's Mighty Wurlitzer is one of the largest and finest theater organs in the world today. Its nearly 6000 pipes, numerous percussions, and countless traps are masterfully presented by the Musical Staff who are world class musicians.

It surely is a sight to see and hear.

I have to admit the pizza is not so great but the environment cannot be beat! so it makes it worth it.

1149 E Southern Ave.
480-813-5700
http://www.organstoppizza.com/

Go to the website: for more and great information about the history of the restaurant, the organ and the menu.

Hours: Thanksgiving -Mid April, Sun- Thurs 4:00pm-9:00pm, Fri and Sat. 4:00pm-10:00pm, Mid April -Thanksgiving Sun - Thurs 5:00-9:00pm, Fri and Sat 5:00-10:00pm

Prices: Pizzas range from $4.69-$15.59

Tutu's and Tootles

My sister...very crafty...has had her own side business for a while making bows and tutu's for little girls. She recently started an online store!
She just started the online thing, so check back often for more items...like she hasn't added her tutu's on there yet I don't think. They are really reasonably priced comparitively!
Here is the website:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6368904

In Need of Child Care?

Do you or someone you know need child care? I'd love to help! Please feel free to call me at 480-626-4261 or e-mail me at shauna.fuller@hotmail.com for more information. Thank you!!!

Good Reads, worth checking out

I was introduced to Good Reads by my sister-in-law. It is a wonderful way to keep track of what books you are reading, have read, or want to read. The site allows you to post reviews about books you've read, and leave comments on books read by friends. It's a nice way to keep up with each other's readings, and to suggest books that might not make it into a bookclub otherwise.

Baby Stuff Giveaway

wSeriously, Liz may regret allowing me to post after this.

My sister-in-law's sister has this great web-site that they are officially launching, Saucy Creations, specializing in baby and children's accessories. In honor of their launch, they are having a big givaway. Entering is easy, and the prizes are great! We have had the privialge of getting a few of these treasures, and the products are great. Anyway, check out their site, they have everything from diaper bags to binkie clips to baby bedding; all of it super cute, and reasonable priced.

CHEAP GASOLINE !!!!!!!

For those of you that need to gas up your cars, Bashas' at Higley/Elliott has it priced at $2.80! Yes that's right ladies...$2.80 ! So go top off your car before the price shoots up after the elections...oh ya...don't forget to vote!

spotlight

some crazy lady named katrina thought that my life might be an interesting read so hopefully i do not disapoint all of you!

i was born on march 27, 1979 in orange, ca. i am adopted (my birth mother was only 17 when she had me) and my parents got me when i was 6 weeks old. i lived in a foster home for those first 6 weeks while the paper work was going through and my name in the foster home was "deidra". do i look like a deidra to you? ummm... not so much. i have one brother, aaron who is 4 years older than me. we were buddies as young kids but seemed to go our seperate ways as he got into his teenage years. i think seeing how close my LDS friends were with their siblings was a big part of why i was drawn to the church.

i grew up in yorba linda, ca, a.k.a. the o.c. (don't tell lars that i used the term "the o.c." it embarrasses him but he's just jealous that i grew up somewhere that had a tv show named after it!) all of my extended family lived in connecticut and massachusetts (both of my parents are from connecticut). it kind of stunk not ever having family around like all of my friends. i grew up jewish (my mom is jewish and my dad was raised catholic but doesn't practice. he isn't one for organized religion). we always celebrated hannukah & christmas, which was oh so wonderful! the family room was decorated for christmas and the living room was decorated for hannukah. when i was 13 i had a bat mitzvah (thank goodness i don't have a picture of that blessed event available. talk about an awkward stage in life! YIKES!) but pretty much after that i didn't practice any religion.

i loved playing soccer as a kid. i started playing when i was 5 and i played until i was 12. my dad was my coach for all 7 years and my team's name was "the wildcats" for all of those years.

once i hit junior high i was more into dancing & singing. i was in a few musicals and in a traveling show group. in high school i was on the dance team. for the fall & winter we performed the field show at the football game as well as competing at competitions and a parade routine for competitions. i think that this type of thing is more common in ca. than it is here in az. in the spring we did indoor dance competitions which were regular dance routines like jazz and lyrical. this picture is one of my costumes from a field show my junior year. yes, i did dance with it on my head!! (don't be jealous of the costume. after all we can't all prance around in fruit hats)

i graduated from high school in 1997 & i went to Santa Barbara for my first year of college. i decided that it wasn't for me & i came home after one year. it was then that i took the missionary discussions. two of my best friends growing up were LDS so i called one of them up & told her that i wanted to become mormon. i took all of the discussions at my friend's parent's house but decided to think about it before i got baptized. i moved to san diego to go to fashion design school & while i was living there i was baptized. in 2002 i moved to provo, utah to go to cosmetology school. (okay so at this point you are thinking that i am CRAZY for going to 4 different colleges but let's just say i could never figured out what i wanted to do. being a mom was my real desire but now with three kids 3 and under a job at mcdonalds some days sounds appealing!) it was in provo that i met lars on a blind date that actually didn't go horribly wrong for once. we decided that we wanted to be like everyone else in provo so we got married 5 months later. we were married in the los angeles, ca temple on august 16, 2003.

lars graduated from byu in may 2004 with a degree in construction management. he took a job with mccarthy (a commercial construction company) in tempe, az where he works as a senior estimator. so far we have lived in mesa, maricopa & gilbert. we are trying to set some sort of record, the most moves in the shortest period of time. we have moved 4 times in 5 years, good times! we have 3 wonderfully crazy children. reed is 3 1/2, maddux is 1 1/2, & savannah is 3 months old & the erickson family is officially complete (minus the dog that i am dying to have).

things i love: my huusband, my kids, diet coke with a fresh squeezed lime, see's candy, pedicures, getting my hair done, a cadillac escalade (not that i have one but i can still love it, right?), my cell phone (how did i ever live without this magnificent device?), television (the inventor of this must of had toddlers) & lots of other "material" items that i probably shouldn't love!!

things i do not love: my husband's motorcycle (oh the things i could do with the money if he sold it, hmmmmm), direct tv (dish network is sooooo much better but we HAD to have the byu football games), all 3 kids crying at the same time, my body after having a baby, poopy diapers that come from an 18 month old (seriously just sick & wrong)!!

okay, so there you have it the shortened and G rated version of my life thus far. i hope that you enjoyed the show! next week let's delve into the life & times of linette green!!

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition - Adventure of the Week

If you and your children liked the C.S. Lewis children's book series- The Chronicles of Narnia you will for sure like the Arizona Science Center premiere of the Chronicles of Narnia Exhibition.

"It is a state-of-the-art educational exhibition based on the film series and C.S. Lewis’ beloved fictional books. The excitement of the stories is brought to life in immersive scenes that feature authentic costumes, props and set dressings from the films portraying the wonderful world of Narnia. The exhibition explores the science and natural history behind the mythical world of Narnia and stewardship for our own environment.
The journey begins in a recreation of C.S. Lewis’ personal study, featuring real artifacts from Lewis himself. Visitors then step into the famous attic wardrobe that transports them to the wintry world of Narnia featured in the first film, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” complete with falling snow, cold wind and the White Witch’s ice palace.
A sampling of interactive elements include:

Replica of the Witch’s Throne from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” – sit on the iconic, icy throne and feel the chill.
King Miraz’s Castle from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” – build an arch, learn about the strategy involved in castle design and use a working catapult.
The Telmarine camp from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” – lift and feel the tremendous weight of a real chain mail suit of armor and swords from the film."

Admission: $18 adults $12 for seniors and students ages 3-17 (includes general admission).

It is the FINAL WEEKS - which means REDUCED PRICING
Discounted pricing not valid online
Add Walt Disney pictures and Walden media present The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition General admission required

Hours: 10 am - 5 pm

Arizona Science Center, 600 E Washington St. 602-716-2028

Check out their website azscience.org for great resources and links such as;

• a teacher/educational guide
• Insiders Guide to the Exhibition
• C.S. Lewis website
• Official movie site and fan site and much more

Nello's postponed~

til THURSDAY THE 23RD~ We can carpool, too. It's in Chandler. We are meeting there at NOON. Reply if you can join us!

Spotlight

OK, let me start by saying that it is just so not fun to write about myself, but here I go:
I was born in New Jersey and have a lot of family who live in New York, but I have been in Arizona since I was 6. I guess I was kind of a tomboy when I was growing up.

Me & my brother & my 3rd grade school picture - can you tell I had P.E. right before the picture was taken?

Me and my brother were the best of friends and I would just as soon play with his toys than any of my dolls. I took tennis, judo (for a little while), and piano. I was also in brownie and girl scouts when I was younger. I actually thought girl scouts was pretty boring. I was totally hoping we would do cool stuff like my brother did in cub scouts, but that never really happened. However, I did love wearing my little brownie uniform to school with the awesome brown felt beanie hat. I thought I was so cool!

Here I am lifting the bar (with no weights on it) in Judo - look at my concentration! Too funny!

In Jr. High I was in the band and I dressed up as our school mascot to pass out candy in a parade. The mascot was supposed to be a roadrunner, but since it was made by the Home Ec. department it looked more like a sad rendition of Big Bird. It had this huge paper mache head that was too big and had to be stuffed with a towel. Even with the towel in there I could hardly tell where I was going because the eye holes moved around so much. Good times.




Me as the awesome Rhodes' roadrunner!

Anyway, I joined the church when I was 13. My mom was actually curious about it and asked me to call my friend who was LDS and see if I could go to church with her. The missionaries later came and taught us and I am so thankful that I found the gospel when I did.
I met Jeff when I was in High School. We met at a church dance (his cousins were in my ward and introduced us). He played football and was on yearbook and track. I was in the Latin Club, Honor Society, and the oh so cool Academic Decathalon. So we might not have even met if we went to the same school! I know it probably sounds like I was a huge nerd in High School, but really I wasn't (well, maybe just a little & OK, maybe I still am!) But, I did also love to play racquetball and church sports - my favorite was Young Women's basketball (why don't we have that anymore?). I also loved to go to concerts - U2, REM, Depeche Mode, and The Cure were some of my favorites.


My junior picture - check out my '80's hair. It took
a lot of hairspray to get it to stay that way!

Jeff went on his mission and I went to Nursing School. And, I started out working at a Nursing Home which was quite the experience. Since I was new I had a pretty bad schedule - sometimes days and then nights - I hated it. So, I kept praying that I would be able to have Sundays off so I could go to church each week. Then one day shortly thereafter, I was offered a new position at work to start up and manage an Assisted Living facility. I was able to work Mon. - Fri. which was definitely an answer to my prayers. The only downside was that when I wasn't at work I was on-call for any problems that came up. This was way back when we had pagers instead of cell phones (not so fun!). It was also pretty bad when one of our buildings caught on fire and we had to relocate our patients from Chandler to Sun City for a while. (That was quite the commute for me!)



our engagement picture
We got engaged about a month after Jeff got home from his mission and were married a little over 4 months later. After a few years and a few miscarriages Mason was finally born, and then 18 months and one day later Easton arrived, followed by Brenlee 6 years later. I love being a mom and being married to my best friend. We have been married 15 years and have lived here for the past 5 years - we love it!







Some things I love: Peanut m&ms, guitar hero, ice cream, reading a good book, happy endings, folding laundry, finding a good bargain, playing games, the funny things kids say, The Amazing Race, scrapbooking, orange tic tacs, cupholders, skiing, the DVR, & rollercoasters.

Some things I hate: Traffic, the squeaky noise styrofoam makes, potty training, school projects, pretty much the entire cartoon network, waiting in line, big crowds, junk mail, barking dogs in the middle of the night, runny noses, playground sand that comes home in kids' shoes, eggs, public speaking, and mosquito bites.

Let's hear from Amy Erickson for next week's spotlight!

Arizona Capitol Museum - Adventure of the Week

"The Arizona Capitol Museum brings history to life every day through exhibitions, special events, and tours. More than 20 exhibits tell Arizona's story from territorial days to the present."

Current Exhibits:

Arizona's State Symbols
Fifteen state symbols represent Arizona's environment, society and economy. Since the Great Seal was chosen in 1911, the state legislature has recognized everything from a state flower to a state fossil. The latest symbol to be added was the state butterfly in 2001.

Historical Figures from Arizona's Past
Diverse peoples forged this multi-faceted landscape we call Arizona. Learn about contributions to the settlement and establishment of Arizona through six life-size historic figures that represent diverse people in Arizona's history.

The Gratitude Train
The Gratitude Train was an expression of thanks from the people of France for American generosity after World War II. The personal items exhibited are from the boxcar filled with gifts delivered to Arizona in 1949.

Flagship of the Fleet: Life and Death of the USS Arizona
The most common image of the Arizona is of the ship in flames at Pearl Harbor. This exhibit tells the rest of the story, its focus is personal. Using rare artifacts and photographs, it tells the story of the men. The exhibit brings the history of the ship up to date with film footage documenting the research that has been conducted on the ship since the 1980s.

Nature's Mirror: Images & Artifacts from the Edward S. Curtis Collection
The exhibit focuses on items located in the Capitol Museum’s collection obtained by the State of Arizona from Edward Curtis in the early to mid 1900s. A sample of these priceless baskets, some of which are seen in Curtis’ photographs, are on display.

FREE Admission

http://www.lib.az.us/museum/
Hours (except State holidays)
Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday11:00 am - 4:00 pm

1700 W. Washington St. Phoenix, Az

602-542-4675

Park free at Wesley Bolin Plaza east of 17th Avenue and top off your day with a visit to the award winning museum store.

Movie

Has anyone seen Walle? I was going to take my girls to see it, or maybe kung-fu panda at about 1:00 tomorrow (fri.). Anyone want to come?

volleyball anyone?

If you are looking for something to do Saturday night for a DATE NIGHT, come play volleyball and BBQ at the Discovery Park behind Costco! It can be a fun time to get away from the kids and relax outdoors!

We are meeting there at 5:30 to BBQ, bring a side dish and play volleyball. We can just run around the park and act like teenagers if you want! Spread the word!

Handbag giveaway!

If you go to http://www.handbagplanet.com/contest3 you can enter a to win a free handbag. They are giving one away each hour until their new web store opens. All you have to do is enter your first name & e-mail. So easy! Good luck!

Adventure of the Week - Horseback Riding

Posting early because I know many of you have Fall Break this week and I've heard a few of you are planning on camping with your families. Why don't you spruce up your family outing by going horse back riding. There is so much beautiful country in Arizona and what better way to see it then on a horse in our.

Be sure to call to get availability

Canyon Creek Ranch
Black Canon City, AZ
623-374-5245
http://www.ccranch.cc/
Hourly, half or full day rides, cowboy cookouts, wagon rides, and cattle drives. Please call for directions, prices and reservations.


Cave Creek Trail Rides
877-942-6700
Cave Creek Recreation Area is on 32nd St. North off the Carefree Highway between Interstate 17 and Scottsdale Rd., Cave Creek, AZ
http://www.cavecreektrailrides.com/
Rdie horses with their Southwest cowboys in their optional gear of boots, hats and chaps that they provide. Step back into history for a taste of what life must have been like on horseback in Phoenix and Cave creek 150 years ago.


D-Spur Ranch
15371 E Ojo Rd. Gold Canyon, AZ
602-810-7029
http://www.dspurranch.com/
Hourly rides, hayrides and cookouts. Call to make reservations


MacDonalds Ranch
26540 N Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ
480-585-0239
http://www.macdonaldsranch.com/


OK Corral Riding Stables
2655 E Whiteley St. Apache Junction, AZ
http://www.okcorrals.com/
Hourly, half and all-day horseback rides. they also offer overnight trips, cookouts and hayrides.


Ponderosa Stables
10215 S. Central., Phoenix, AZ
602-268-1261
www.arizona -horses.com
Riding lessons, hour, half day and all day rides, hayrides and cookouts


Saguaro Lake Ranch trail Rides
480-984-0335
http://www.saguarolaketrailrides.com/


Spur Cross Stables
444029 N. Spur Cross Rd., Cave Creek, AZ
480-488-9117
http://www.horsebackarizona.com/
Treat yourself and your family to an early morning ride or watch the beautiful sunset later int he day. Hourly, half day and full-day rides available. Enjoy their ranch animals.

San Tan Mall Kids Club

Our new San Tan mall has this great avtivity 2 days each month & I just wanted to share it with everyone! Now that it is cooling off the outdoor playground @ the mall is a great place to go after kids club!

Here's the info:

Now through Wednesday, November 12, 200810am - 11am
Join Persephone and Webster the Warthog for Kids Club, every second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 10a.m. - 11a.m. in the Food Court!This free event is an interactive community program designed to educate and entertain children in a safe and happy place. Members learn about a new topic each show along with music, dancing and reading. The program is ran by entertainer, Persephone along with Webster the Warthog, the Westcor Kids Club mascot. Our next show will be all about colors and animals. Stride Rite will be our special guest!

To become a member, click the link below and signup online. webinquiry.net/macerich/kidsclub

Spotlight

I love to read all of your spotlights, but am finding it very hard to talk about myself!! But here it goes...



I was born and raised in Sacramento California, and am the oldest of 3 kids. I have one sister and one brother. I had a pretty normal childhood, and we only moved twice. The first time I was to young to remember and the second time in high school, we moved about 5 miles away. My parents still live in that house today.

I graduated from high school in 1992 and went to Ricks college that fall for 2 years. After I graduated I wasn't sure what I wanted to do or where I wanted to continue my education. So I ended up back in Sacramento where I met Bob!!



After coming back home I enrolled at enrolled at Sacramento State. I got involved with the local institute program and a chapter of the church sponsored sorority. It was through this group I met Bob in a round about way.

The first few weeks of that summer he was still at BYU during a summer session. I was interested in a friend of his, well that went no where.(thank goodness!) After he came home he joined our large group that did everything together. We all worked full time, and did things together every evening.Those were the day, staying out to 2or 3 and then being to work or school by 7 or 8!!!!
After a few weeks,and a few bad dates I a wrote in my journal, why can't I find someone like Bob or one of the other guys we hang out with. And well the rest is as they say history. We got engaged at the end of summer and got married in the Oakland Temple on December 30, 1994.



We lived in Provo, Utah for 9 months while Bob finished up his engineering degree,I worked part time for the first 4 months at a really awful preschool. It was so bad that I quit and the last few months we lived like really poor college students. We spent our days playing and watching the OJ Simpson trial,and I played homemaker at night while Bob worked.

In Septmeber of 1995 we moved here to Arizona when Bob was hired by Intel. We live in Mesa for a year before buying our first home in Gilbert. We moved here to San Tan Ranch(our second home) in October of 2002.

We have 3 awsome boys now. Brandon is 11 1/2, Zachary is 9 1/2 and Ethan is 5. Number four a GIRL is due in about 4 weeks. We are so excited, we can't wait.



I love to read, if I have any down time you will probably find me with a book. If you have any recommendations bring it on. I am always looking for new things to read.

I love to cook, but hate to bake. I know it doesn't make much sense, but I don't like to measure,and to bake you have to be so precise. I love to try new recipes on my family. Recently I haven't been much of a cook either, but I am hoping after the baby I will enjoy cooking and food again.

I love to go out to eat!!!! My one craving this pregnancy has been sushi and Japanese food. I will eat about anything(once).

Things I don't enjoy- cleaning bathrooms,public speaking and being up front of a large group,folding sock, and kids who whine!!!

This is the most current family picture we have. It is at the top of the list after the baby.



Next time lets hear from ...... Katrina Webb!!!!

Dance Class

If anyone is interested in a toddler dance class Misty Trendler fron ST1 ward is teaching dance once a week. The classes are 1 hour long and the fee is $25 per month. Misty can be reached at 988-4249. Spaces are limited.

Nello's pizza - new date

Has anyone heard of Nello's Pizza? It's off of Alma School and Guadalupe. It's very good, and I was planning to go the week after Fall Break, TUESDAY at 11:45. Sound good?
CHANGED THE DATE. . . . ..

HSM3

It's coming out into the theater October 24th. I thought it might be fun to get some moms-n-girlz to go together. Anyone in the game?

A Chirstmas present for a daddy and son

Call me cheesy, but I love seeing little guys matching their daddy's. When my sister in law forwarded me this website http://www.myfavoritepal.com/, I was so excited. Another Christmas present off my list. Order all you want and the shipping is only $5.00. So if any of you are interested let me know, we can combine our orders and save some $$. I also like how the come in different lengths for the boys and men and all of the boys are zippers.

Email me your order at jernkel@hotmail.com. I am thinking of ordering by the end of October, just to make sure there are not any delays.

Adventure of the Week- Drive-In Scottsdale Six

So I'm late on this "Adventure of the Week" its just been really busy in this household, but with our demanding schedules may we plan time for fun with the family.

As Fall break is coming for many of us and our families finding things to do with the whole family and kind of get costly.

Here's an idea! Head on over to the Drive in theaters in Scottsdale and hit some movie flicks. Gosh when was the last time I've done that, and with the weather getting cooler in the evenings its enjoyable for everyone.

1625 N. Hayden Rd. Scottsdale, AZ
480-949-9451
Hours: Vary
Prices: $5.75 per person, children 11 and under free
If you go on a Tuesday its $3.50 per person

Reminder

Play group in the park are on Friday's now at 9:00. Currently we are going to the Train Park.

Does that park work with everyone? We want to hear your opinions.

Spread the word to other mothers too.

Many people have expressed interest in walking or jogging in the morning and evenings. Please express interest so others can join in the fun and can collaborate a time for everyone.