Family Weekend

After a crazy first few weeks of summer, we finally made it to the cabin as a family. G was off work and we spent two nights at the cabin. It was wonderful! We relaxed friday night after a long day- the girls enjoyed sliding, climbing over the couch (hours of entertainment!), and finding all of Grandma's moose and bear friends!

Saturday was a typical cabin day. . .a trip to the park in the town, a walk down the street to check out what is going on with everyone, quad rides with Daddy (and which stresses Mommy out!), eating yummy food, swinging, playing in the dirt, and then Grandma and Grandpa arrived! The girls were so excited to see them! We broke in the newly finished downstairs room by watching the Boise State game and watching the girls entertain themselves! Who needs toys when there is an empty room? They ran in circles, twirled, wrestled, and just had fun being silly! So much fun to watch!

I was able to get some quality "mommy time" in- I finished a cross stitch project that has been begging for years to be finished! And I completed about half of a scrapbook that also has been calling my name! It was nice to do something for myself!

Sunday we came home earlier than usual for a family mini-reunion with my dad's side of the family. 10 great-grandkids, 5 cousins, plus my parents, uncle and aunt, and my grandma! It was a fun day at the park- the kids had fun hula hooping with Uncle S, playing in the sand, and being outside! G and I enjoyed seeing my cousins . .. its been over 5 years since we have been all together. Hopefully it won't take 5 years for us to get together again!

This family weekend was just what I needed. It has been a rough few weeks emotionally. . .many of my friends are going through hard times with their kiddos. I'm so blessed to have my girls and that they are healthy. Miss Pumpkin had such a rough start in life and to see her now is just amazing. Tonight after I tucked her into bed I came back and just sat by her bed, while rubbing her back. She's amazing. . .I can't believe this beautiful 4 year old is the same little baby that I sat watching for three months through plexi-glass. Every day I still give her extra snuggles, hugs, and kisses knowing that I'm so lucky to have her to hold. Miss Sweet Pea is also a snuggler. . . she loves to relax on us. Tonight was a special night were she actually fell asleep on me. . .its getting less and less since she is getting bigger and likes her bed. Tonight we were in her room and I enjoyed holding her while she drifted off. I love my sweet girls and I hope that we will have many more of these nights in our future. I have hope that even in high school, my girls will still love being with us! Don't laugh. . .I know several girls who still love to be hugged, held, and loved by their mommies!

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of School!

Sleepy Girls!

This fall Miss Pumpkin was so excited for school to be starting! She was missing her friends over the summer and was blessed to have one of my good friends as her preschool teacher. Not only was Miss L her new teacher, but her cousin was also in her class! The morning of school was a little rough since we weren't used to waking up so early. . .but we made it! I tried my best to take morning pictures but both girls were not being very cooperative. I was able to capture more of a candid shot of Miss Pumpkin as she was walking away from me! Once we got to school, she quickly ran in the room and looked for her new teacher and cousin. Unfortunately her teacher starts after breakfast so she had a hard time getting used to that. She is loving school this year. . .she can tell me more of what they are doing, singing lots of songs, and just plain growing up!!! (I don't like it!!!) I know it will be a great year for her!

Now she's ready!

As far as my Sweet Pea. . .she is in the same classroom as last year (until her birthday) which is good. She is familiar with her teachers and other kids. . . but she is attached to her mommy. Some mornings are great and others I leave a very sad little girl! The easiest trick is to be able to time it right at breakfast. . .leave her with food and she is a happy girl! She is always ecstatic to see me after school and will drop everything and come running! Hopefully school will help her learn new words and help her language development! She is still signing and always learning new signs and her receptive language is great. I love that I can tell her to go put something away and she understands! Now we just need some more words!

Sweet Girl!

This will be our last year for awhile with the girls at the same school. . .sad to think that next fall my little miracle baby will be going to kidnergarten! Amazing! Now time to start the countdown until Christmas!

Bye Bye Summer!

Our beautiful morning at the lake

For Labor Day this year, the girls and I adventured up the hill to my parents cabin in Shaver. Unfortunately, G had to work the CSUF football game (I know. . .how hard. He got paid to go to a football game!). The first night it was just the three of us. It was so nice to be able to get out of the heat and relax. The cabin is perfect since I never feel that I have to do anything. . .only what I want to do! After Miss Sweet Pea went to bed, Pumpkin and I curled up on the couch to watch a movie. That is exactly where we woke up in the morning!!! I think I started something . . . she now wants to nap on the couch!

My girls and their "shobels"

After breakfast, we decided to go check out the lake. I was worried about the beach being crowded since it was a holiday weekend, but the little cove area was almost empty! The girls and I set up our little blanket and they got busy with the buckets and "shobels". I entertained myself by practicing some photography and enjoying the beautiful scenery! It was beautiful and peaceful! These ducks swam by and then decided to take a nap on the beach right in front of us. I was so surprised at how close to us they were.

After naps, my aunt arrived to spend the night. Her and I enjoyed staying up late and talking. Miss Sweet Pea was a little nervous when she first arrived and kept a close eye on her. By the end of the weekend she was giving her lots and lots of love! Sunday we enjoyed going for a walk up and down the street, chasing butterflies, throwing rocks, and playing in the dirt. The girls were exhuasted and slept on the way home.

On Monday, our cousins invited us to go to Pump it Up for open gym time. This was on our summer list of things to do and we never made it! We were excited for the chance to go. After initially being hesitant, both girls loved it! Miss Pumpkin loved to jump. . .Aunt K would double bounce her and she would fly!!!! Miss Sweet Pea loved to slide and was brave enough to go down the big slides all by herself!!! It was quite the workout for Mommy. . .I had already completed a 3 mile morning run and going up and down the slides with Miss Sweet Pea in my arms was definitely another workout!

Thank you to my friend LD for coming to hangout!!! I know college students do not always think hanging out with mommies of preschoolers as entertaining, but she is always such a great sport!! She was even nice enough to take photos for me! Love ya LD!

Next summer we will try to add this to one morning a month. . .especially since the girls both took marathon naps when we came home. Always a good thing!

Miss Sweet Pea sliding!

It was a fun weekend with me and the girls. Daddy unfortunately worked almost all weekend. . .hopefully he'll be able to go with us to the cabin later this month!

Summer Days!

I can't believe summer is half over! Where has the time gone?!?

This summer has been full of a variety of activities. In June, I painted our kitchen. . .like most projects it turned into a bigger project than I expected. However it is done and I love it. The color is beautiful and now I'm trying to find the perfect color for the living room and also the motivation to take on the HUGE job of painting the living area! I also have been busy with my 90-day Bible challenge and am leading a small group with that study. It's been a challenge, but we are past the halfway point and hopefully I'll be able to finish by the end of the 90 days!

The girls and I have been working on our tans- not on purpose but all three of us are definately have gotten darker! In the mornings, we have been running. The girls love the jogging stroller and are such troopers! Lately we have adding cycling which the girls also love since it is much faster! Some days we bike/run to the park and it is a win-win for all three of us! Our backyard kiddie pool has gotten its use, as well as the girls play cars and bikes. I love hanging out in our backyard with our big trees- it allows us to hang out outside when it is hot! I can't wait until next year when our grass is green and soft! Miss Pumpkin has been able to take gymnastics this summer. She LOVES it! She is such a good listener for her teachers and enjoys showing off her new moves when she comes home! I think we will skip soccer this fall and keep her in gymnastics!

We went to Monterey a few weeks ago (that blog will be coming), and our cousins from Kansas are currently visiting! We have a few more trips planned, more home projects, and swim parties! This last month of vacation is going to be busy, but fun!

Just wanted to post a quick update! Pictures and more detailed blogs on the way!

End of Year School Program

I don't feel I can call it graduation since neither of my girls are really graduating. . .they are just moving rooms at preschool! Whatever you call it, Miss Pumpkin was in a program at preschool. Her class has been practicing for a few months for this program and I was so excited to see her perform again! At Christmas she did so great during her program I was shocked! I was always so shy as a kid and here is my little girl on stage singing her heart out and signing away! I may have a stage kid on my hands. . .or maybe a budding musician! Who knows! I love seeing her experience these new things and am curious which way she is going to go as she gets older!

Her age group sang two songs- Audio Adrenaline's "Big House" and then a song called "The Bug Song." Both were adorable! This time we had her and her cousin Nenna together so it was easy to get pictures! Miss Pumpkin did the best with "Big House" and then was kind of quiet during the bug song. She had a big smile on her face once she was on stage and loved waving at Mommy, Sydney, and her grandparents! She knew all the hand movements for Big House and always tells me when she hears it on the radio that it is her song. For the bug song, the kids all put on little antennae's. Pumpkin didn't sing the beginning of the song, but once she got going she knew her favorite parts and the hand signs too! It was adorable to watch her and Nenna look at each other and giggle while singing. (You'll see in the pictures that Nenna has to look down to Pumpkin and Pumpkin has to look up to Nenna!) After her performance, her and her cousin received flowers for all their hard work and we treated them to frozen yogurt. Such sweet girls! I can't believe that next year she will really be graduating from preschool!

Yup! She's 4 already!

So I'm a little behind. . . better late than never!

Miss Pumpkin turned four in May. She was soooo excited for her birthday this year. She had to wait for her cousins birthdays, her sisters birthday, and even her daddy's birthday to pass before it was her special day! We counted down the days until her birthday and she was soooo excited! She proudly tells everyone that she is four.

The day before her real birthday I made cupcakes to take to school for her friends. She had a fun afternoon with her friends and loved her cupcake- just sprinkles, no icing!

Then came the fun! This was her first "friend" party- we picked a few of her school friends to be invited as well as all of her cousins. Her buddy "N" was the only one who was able to make it. She was sooo excited when he came in the yard! Her party had a balloons and bubble theme. We had balloons that the kids could play with, bubbles for them to blow, a bubble machine that KK and Sweet Pea loved to dance in, and a huge wading pool of bubble solution that we attempted to make bubbles big enough to put kids in! (That was quite the experiment. . .I'm hoping to try it again since now I have a little experience!). I made her cake and attempted my hand at decorating it with candy ballons!

A few months back I found a Barbie PowerWheels jeep on Craigslist. We kept it hidden until her birthday. At the end of her party we brought her out to see it! She was sooo excited! A few driving lessons from her daddy and she was quickly driving around the backyard. She prefers to sit in the passenger seat since it has a working seatbelt! I will have to remedy that this summer! She is now able to drive her sister around the yard and I trust her. .. a little! I'm usually right close by to help it turn or to make sure she stops!

I think it was a great day. . .I hope one that she will remember bits and pieces of in the years to come! Such a special day with so many memories of her sudden entrance into the world. Amazing my little 15 ounce baby is four years old. She is such a fun spirit and still a snuggly little girl who can curl up on our laps!