Our entire family, ages 5 (almost 6) to 45 enjoy playing this game: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001SN8GF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1481317955&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=telestrations&dpPl=1&dpID=61EgR3yjKXL&ref=plSrch Someone has to help the 5 year old know what to draw and right down her guesses for her, but otherwise she plays it on her own, and her 5 year old drawings just add to the hilarity of the game!

I've lived in Tempe for the last 15 years. I don't know what would count as must see for your family, but things we enjoy... Hiking in the Superstition Mountains, South Mountain or Camelback (not in summer, obviously. 😀) In the Superstitions, Peralta Trail is nice. At South Mountain I really like Telegraph Pass. A little further East from Mesa is Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It's really lovely. In town, the Desert Botanical Garden is fantastic. The zoo is really a good one if your kids are into zoos still. Yes, the Musical Instrument Museum is a must see. It is amazing. A gigantic new aquarium just opened up in Scottsdale, Sea Odysey. I haven't been, but it's supposed to be incredible. Like, they actually have dolphins you can pay a lot of money to see/touch/swim with. (Not that I think they should let people pay a lot of money to see/touch/swim with captive dolphins...) Butterfly Wonderland is next door to that. The railroad museum in Scottsdale is called McCormick Stillman Railroad Park. It is a really cool park, maybe not so interesting for your older kids, but they do have a little Museum there and a fun playground. SunSplash for sure if you come in the summer. Castles and Coasters is another small amusement park my kids like, although it's a drive from Mesa. I took my older kids to Frank Loyd Wright's home Taliesen West northeast of Scottsdale last week and it was really fascinating. The tours are pricy ($30 ish), but it was really cool. If you have to come in the summer, maybe plan to take a trip up North. There is so much to do around Flagstaff...Walnut Canyon Indian ruins, Sunset Crater, Lowell Observatory, the Grand Canyon isn't too far away. And city pools here are so cheap and many have water slides and high dives and lazy rivers. (Like $2 adults, $1.00/$1.50 for kids. I'm always so irritated when I visit my parents in another state and have to pay like $25 to take my kids swimming!) And there are some good museums...Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the The Heard Museum. We love, love the Heard. It's a museum of Native American art and history in a lovely old Spanish Colonial Building near downtown Phoenix. That's all I can think of at this point. There's definitely more to do than you can squeeze into one trip. 😊

They do. I'd say we got our money'a worth out of it. It's a hit when friends come over. They share a room, too. When I bought it they were in a smaller room than they are now, and we squeezed it in. I read all the reviews and measured everything before I bought it, but the size still surprised me. KidKraft makes other houses that are less bulky and can fit up against a wall. Here's a nice example: http://www.hayneedle.com/product/savannahdollhouse.cfm?redirect=false&source=pla&kwid=Dollhouses%20iprefer&tid=KD134-1&adtype=pla&kw=&gclid=CL-nrvHe1NACFVBcfgodFwoB9w

I got this one for my girls (then ages probable 3 and 5) a couple of Christmases ago. I love it because it's a perfect height for Barbies. Plus you can access it from both sides. It does take up a chunk of space, though. http://www.target.com/p/kidkraft-so-chic-dollhouse/-/A-14870116?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Toys_Priority%2BShopping&adgroup=Toys_Priority+TCINs&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=m&location=1013462&fndsrc=tgtao&gclid=CK3px8a51NACFUtNfgod8hQH_g&gclsrc=aw.ds

MIL once walked into the bathroom where DH was showering (our shower has see through glass walls) to pester him about taking her home. We chalked it up to her vaguely diagnosed, absolutely never treated, and poorly parented aspergers and it's accompanying anxiety and problems with personal space/boundaries. Still, by 77 you would think you'd have figured out it's not okay to walk in on someone in the bathroom. DH obsessively locks the door now when he's showering. I occasionally find myself locked out of my own bedroom even though there are two lockable doors between the bedroom door and the shower. 😜

DD just had a birthday and also recently went to a bday party for a 13 year old. They each got several cute hair accessories/headbands. You cab find cute ones under $10.

My parents have an older Bosch, maybe 6-8 years? They've had a few problems with it and I don't think they'd pay the extra money for it again if they had a do over. Overall it's still going strong still, but one of the things my mom hates the most is their instrument panel because it's on the outside and some grandchild or another is always playing with the buttons and turning cycles on when it's empty or interrupting the cycle while it's washing. Sometimes adults unintentionally mess up the buttons by just leaning against it. If people live in your house go for the hidden control pane for surel!!

Absolutely. This is the kind of crap my husband pulls.

I always feel like a rockstar when I do that! I put air in my mini van tire today, used the tire gauge and everything. That's completely mundane, but I haven't done it in probably 10 years because DH always takes care of it.

We have 4 of these hanging on the wall accommodating a 1/32 up to a full size violin. My husband purchased them unaware of sizes and I know they say 3/4 to 4/4 in the description, but we've not had any problem with the little ones. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0009S5JMM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479772316&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=violin+wall+hanger&dpPl=1&dpID=41KWdSIN2gL&ref=plSrch

My DH would have done exactly the same. And possibly eaten it without even questioning. I'm glad you caught him!

Thank you for sharing. 😊 Can I ask what kind of thyroid issues?

Thanks for sharing your friend's experience.

Hmmm. That's interesting. I'll research it. Thank you.

what did that look like? DD14 has had diabetes for 8 years. Her yearly blood work has always come back negative for Celiac antibodies. Last check was in April of this year. This year, she has lost nearly 20 lbs since January. She is currently 101 and 5'3". I think she started the year around 120. That's a big drop. She's not trying to lose weight. I''m not concerned at all about eating disorders or anything like that. She has always been a picky eater, but I don't think the amount of food she eats has decreased, though. She did get braces on this year, plus she broke both arms over the summer which made it difficult to eat for a while. And she just finished swim team at school. That used up a lot of calories, I'm sure. But 20 pounds? She has been having what seems like fairly frequent stomach pain (at times so bad she throws up), but I've attributed it to constipation because she has struggled with serious constipation her whole life. And it seems to resolve when I up the Miralax. At times I've wondered if might be menstrual cramps, but she had her first period last April and nothing since. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Do you think it could be Celiac? DD 8 was diagnosed with Celiac last spring and her only symptom was vague stomach pain. We discussed it all with the endocrinologist yesterday and I'm taking her in for more blood work to check for Celiac, thyroid, and another autoimmune disease. I just can't stop worrying about her and I'm wondering if this sounds familiar for anyone else!

I tried to post a picture, but my file is too big. My laundry room counter is ridiculous, like piled two feet deep. I don't know what you would do with a counter, but dob't do that!

Oh yes. I love for November and May. Our library does a canned food drive in Nov/Dec (a certain number of cans clears your whole card. I can't remember the exact number) and in May/June a case of water will clear your entire card. Minus lost items that have been billed, of course. I always have a couple cards that run $50-$80 ish dollar fines, so I love these drives.

Same here. 😊

Yes! I think mine is at least ten years old and going strong.

Our pack hasn't done this as I far as I know, but my son's elementary school pie day celebration last March, there was a throwing pies at the teacher event. I thought it was weird and felt bad for the teachers. The kids loved it, though.

Seriously! He has been such a malignant embarrassment for our state.

Maybe check into used Honda Fits. DH commutes in his about 30 miles a day, mostly freeway. The gas mileage is really good, but I don't know anything about it's crash ratings. It was under $20,000 when we bought it new 5 years ago. Not sure what they go for now new or used. It has been incredibly reliable.

I had shop and home ec in junior high. I remember using a jig saw to cut my name out of wood. My kids still have the stuffed animal I had to sew. My husband had to make a foot stool, wich was very dangerous and off balance. I eventually retired it after you many kids got hurt with it! Neither of us have retained any useful shop related skills. I can see if I have to, but that is mostly because my mother is an excellent seamstress and taught me. Neither of my older kids have any classes like these offered at their middle schools.

My kids do all their own laundry. Occasionally I help. Occasionally they forget and have a clothing emergency. I write their chores on their board everyday, so I keep tabs on when laundry needs to be done and write it on. Sometimes my older kids do it voluntarily. Sometimes my younger girls go for a couple weeks because they have way.too.many.clothes. I hate, hate, hate when clothes get mixed up, like post vacation laundry or something. Having everyone's clothes jumbled together and then floating around the house until it finds the right room drives me crazy!

My kids do all their own laundry. Occasionally I help. Occasionally they forget and have a clothing emergency. I write their chores on their board everyday, so I keep tabs on when laundry needs to be done and write it on. Sometimes my older kids do it voluntarily. Sometimes my younger girls go for a couple weeks because they have way.too.many.clothes. I hate, hate, hate when clothes get mixed up, like post vacation laundry or something. Having everyone's clothes jumbled together and then floating around the house until it finds the right room drives me crazy!