So Long 2010!

If you are reading in chronological order, you already know we had an exciting trip to Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas Eve. In addition to the moose we saw a flock of wild turkeys, two golden eagles, and the usual deer, antelope and geese.

We arrived in time for dinner. For dessert Great Grandma made Uncle S an angel food cake. Angel food cake is not my favorite so I don't make it for the girls. Flower thought it was pretty good. When we told her it was called angel food cake, she looked at Grandma and said, "Did you shoot an angel?".


Keilie dog was ready for bed on Christmas Eve…she didn’t want Santa to pass us by.

On our way home we saw a gorgeous sunset. I considered pulling over to take a photo, but we were on the interstate and there was quite a bit of traffic. Princess asked why I didn't want to pull over. I told her I didn't want anyone to stop to see if we needed help. (Note: Princess and I had a tire blow out on the way to school a couple weeks ago on the interstate.) Princess shrugged and said, "Why? No one stopped to help the last time." Good point.

We have spent the week hanging out at home playing with our new Christmas toys. The girls got a new dance game for the Wii which is a big hit with them and very entertaining for the rest of us as well. A big storm rolled in Wednesday and dumped a bunch of snow. A cold front followed it so today we are supposed to reach a balmy 5 below.

The girls and I didn't leave the house yesterday and might not today either. Dear Husband braved the cold and went skiing yesterday because he couldn't pass up the fresh powder. He is complaining about being old and sore today.

We might break out the fondue pot tonight. Princess likes fondue on New Year's Eve...that's how we ring in the New Year. For those of you with big plans for tonight, have fun, be safe, and Happy New Year!

Mooseltoe

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

We were headed north on the cut-a-cross
With snow in every direction, from Mother Nature’s toss;

When to our surprise, a moose did we see;
Feasting upon a cottonwood tree!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!

Since I didn't have time to write anything this month, I thought I'd post a few photos of what we've been doing (Christmas programs, piano recital, decorating the tree, baking cookies...you get the idea). Merry Christmas!

Babies, Babies, Babies

We've had a run on new cousins lately. Auntie A gave us two beautiful baby girls in February and they came to visit us last month. The girls had a wonderful time with the twins....and they never had to share since there was a baby for everyone!



Ten days ago Cousin C graced us with his presence. We made a quick trip north last weekend to meet him. He is the most handsome little guy I've seen in a long time. I took a few pictures so you can see my babies holding my brother's baby. Auntie S and Uncle S are very proud parents.



If you look closely you'll notice Princess is toothless. In the past month she has lost four teeth; her top middle teeth and two lower teeth next to her middle teeth.



My baby graduates from pre-k tomorrow. Yes, I did say graduate. After graduation there is a reception. It should be interesting.

Lambs

Princess's class took a field trip to a sheep ranch this morning. Flower and I tagged along. We had a great time and we got to hold a lamb. I didn't get a photo of Flower holding a lamb because I had to help her and but Mrs. F took a picture for me. Here are a couple for you.

Happy Easter!

We were at Nana and Papa's last week for dinner. As we were leaving Princess spotted a unique tumbleweed caught next to Nana's car. She said it was an umbrella and gave it to Grandma M. Grandma said she would make something with it. She wasn't kidding. Look at the centerpiece on the table, isn't this the prettiest tumbleweed you have ever seen?

Happy Halloween!

We're done trick-or-treating for another year. The girls are shoveling the candy in as I type. I'm trying to decide if we should just let them eat it all right now and put them to bed when the sugar coma hits, or make them save some candy for the rest of the year.

Princess went as a doctor and Flower was an elephant. Flower has been telling everyone we've seen (including strangers on the street) for the past week "I a erwa-phant".



We carved pumpkins last night. Dear Husband pulled a fist full of pumpkin guts out and moved his hand towards Princess who immediately shrieked and began to cry. DH didn't meant to freak her out so he told her it was just a vegetable. Flower looked at her and said "Yeah, no cry Princess, it just a vegetable!"

Finally, we had a photo session outside in the wind today so I thought I'd post a couple pictures.




Oh yeah, don't forget to set your clocks back an hour tonight....unless your Auntie C!

Another Birthday in the Books

We survived another birthday weekend. Princess is five. We are all still recovering. It was a busy weekend but it was great to see everyone.

Princess summed it up pretty well Sunday night. As I was tucking her in to bed she looked at me and said, "Mom, we need three days to stay home and not do anything." I totally agree. I considered calling in sick on Monday but Flower is still fighting her cold so I am counting the days until we will be home sick.

I'm sitting here eating a piece of leftover birthday cake and trying to think of something witty to say. It's not working so I think I'll just post some pictures and go to bed.

YNP

We’re home. We got home last night around suppertime. We unloaded the pickup, started the laundry, unpacked everything (except Dear Husband’s duffel bag which is another post), gave the girls a bath, and made smores before bedtime. It was the perfect way to end a vacation in my opinion.

The weekend was fabulous. The girls loved the hotel. I can’t even begin to count the number of times Flower asked, “Where are we going? The hotel?” She wasn’t thrilled to be home last night. Princess wants to live at a hotel. I’m not sure what their favorite part was, the swimming pool or staying up past their bedtime and eating popcorn in bed.

Yellowstone was busy, but not as bad as I thought it would be for a major holiday weekend. There was a lot of traffic but it was due to a road closure because of a construction project on a major road. We didn’t see many animals this trip, the usual big game….but no moose or bear this time. Princess was tired of buffalo after the first day.

The nice lady who took our reservations kept her word. We had a bear peeking in the window of our room. It was little disconcerting the first morning I looked out to check the weather without my glasses. The girls loved him however.

Princess wanted to go hiking so we found a couple short trailers filled with squirrels. Flower is the best bear repellant you can get. She talks or sings the entire time. At one point she was yelling “Squirrel, where are you?” over and over and over. Hiking also meant Flower got to ride in the “pack-pack”. She loves the pack-pack, who can blame her? She has the best view and never gets tired. I’m not sure I can say the same for Daddy since Flower has a hard time keeping her hands to herself.


Today includes laundry and a short trip to town for some school shopping. Princess starts pre-k tomorrow and I haven’t really bought her any school clothes. I don’t think she really needs any, but I’m going to use this opportunity to see if I can convince her to wear some pants or skirts….anything but the same three pairs of shorts and t-shirts she has been wearing all summer. Wish me luck!

Happy 90th Birthday Great Grandpa!

July is a busy birthday month for us. Grandpa, Great Grandpa, and Dear Husband are July babies. DH and I were married on Great Grandpa's birthday 13 years ago. We reminisced over a bottle of wine and chicken alfredo last night. It was lovely.

Before I get on with the purpose of this post, I'm going to take a moment to brag a bit. DH and I have been married for 13 years but we've been together since the 80s. I know, that makes us really old. November 1989 to be exact so this winter we'll celebrate 20 years of togetherness. Seems like a long time but it's flow by rather quickly. I wonder where we'll be 20 years from now?

Back to my original post. Yesterday Great Grandpa (my grandpa) turned 90 years old. He's amazing. I might go as far as calling him my hero. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. No matter what happens he always makes me feel like I'm the most important person in the world. Most, if not all, of my childhood memories involve my grandpa and I would not be the person I am today without him.

My mom and my aunt planned a party for my grandpa last weekend. The girls and I spent most of the week at my parents house with Auntie C, Future Uncle P, and Cousin H. The big bash was on Saturday and over 100 people came to help us celebrate. We had a wonderful day visiting with family and friends. The most repeated phrase at the party was "I hope I look half as good as Grandpa when I'm that age." Here's to another year Gramps! I love you! K-

Dog Tired

We got home late last night from a family reunion. We had a great time but by Sunday evening we were beat. We were still three hours from home so we stopped at a McDonald's to grab a couple Happy Meals and take a potty break.

The three of us girls were in the handicap stall using the facilities while Daddy was ordering our food. The girls were done going potty and it was my turn. Flower was exhausted. She was so tired she couldn't hold her head up any longer so she walked over to me and laid her head on my lap to take a quick nap....while I was peeing. Seriously. If we would have had a camera I would have let Princess snap a photo. It was a true Kodak moment.

Now, to clear that image from your brain, I will post something cute.












Oh yeah, and we saw a black bear....

and a grizzly bear....

and a few other random animals but I'm tired of waiting for blogger.

Happy 1st Birthday Cousin Halle!

Exactly one year ago today Cousin Halle graced us with her presence. Auntie C and Uncle P are busy celebrating today. We are busy wishing we could be there to witness the mess of little fingers eating cake. Enjoy every moment Auntie C because you’ll blink and she’ll be getting ready for kindergarten.


In other news, we had a busy weekend. We are all exhausted. Flower seems to be coming down with a cold. Friday we ran errands and took Flower back to the dentist so he could check her front tooth. It’s doing fine. Saturday the girls had a sleep over at Nana and Papa’s while Dear Husband and I went fishing/rafting with some friends. Today the Thunderbirds were in town so we had a picnic at DH’s office, which is very close to the airport. We had great seats and didn’t have to battle the crowds. I snapped a ton of photos but thought these were noteworthy.

Wildflowers

As I mentioned earlier, we spent last weekend at Great Grandma C’s. A lovely time was had by all, except Keilie dog of course, but I’m sure she’s forgotten about the little poisoning incident by now.

GGC always plants a wonderful mix of wildflowers in her backyard and the girls love them. I’m not a great photographer, or even a photographer at all for that matter, however I did manage to catch a few shots I wanted to share with you.

Flower Girls....

....and Daddy.

We Had Fun, Fun, Fun!

Princess and I headed to Phoenix to visit Auntie C, P and Cousin H last weekend. We had a blast and will be recovering from the heat and activities for a while. We flew down on Thursday and back home yesterday. Flower, Daddy, Nana and Papa had a fun filled weekend of bathroom demolition at Great Grandma C’s. I’m pretty sure Princess and I got the better end of the deal, even if it was 100+ degrees in Phoenix.

Our weekend went something like this.

Thursday – Head to airport 90 miles north. 10 minutes from home Princess began to ask “How much farther to the airport?” and continued to ask every 3 minutes until we arrived. Princess navigated airport security like a seasoned traveler. The TSA lady looked over her boarding pass, asked Princess her name, and then asked her if she knew where she was going. Princess gave her this look like “Duh, you’re the one holding the paper!” but she replied “Phoenix” very politely. The TSA lady looked a tad surprised and didn’t know what to say, and let her through security. We boarded the plane and Princess couldn’t quit smiling. Her grin grew as the plane ascended and she must have told me how much fun she was having a million times. I sprung for the kiddie snack pack which was actually pretty good. It had more stuff to eat than we wanted and it came with a cookie she could color with special markers and then eat. We arrived mid afternoon, went to Auntie’s C’s place and then out for pizza.

Friday – Up at 5:00 AM (we didn’t adjust to the time change very well) and off to the zoo. I’m going to take this opportunity to brag about Auntie C’s bargain hunting skills a bit. She found out it was free admission with a Fry’s card so we saved $36 at the gate. She also found coupons in the phone book for free rides on the carousel and a customer appreciate coupon for the Rain Forest Café. When it was all said and done we saved over $50 on Friday and didn’t have to pay for anything at the zoo except the giant snow cones. BTW-that was the best $2.99 I spent all day because in 100 degree heat you can’t beat a snow cone the size of your head. I think Princess enjoyed the snow cone more than the animals. Friday afternoon we hit the mall for some shopping. As we were walking across the parking lot Princess looked at Auntie C and asked “It’s so hot, how do you live here?” I was thinking the exact same thing. That night we went to P’s softball game and met some of Auntie C and P’s friends and relatives.

Saturday – Slept in until 5:40 AM and then took off for the downtown area to ride the Light Rail. Princess loves trains so we took a little ride through Tempe and back. Then we headed to the Children’s Museum for a couple hours of madness. We grabbed a late lunch and back to the house for some time in the pool. We thought about going to the theater (one of my favorite musicals was in town) but the tickets were sold out so we went to an early movie and then a graduation party to round out the evening.

Sunday – Auntie C drove us to the airport bright and early and we headed home. Princess bought a stuffed elephant and gummy bears for Flower and she couldn’t wait to get home and see her little sister. We beat Daddy and Flower home by an hour so we had time to unpack. We spent the rest of the day lounging on the couch and turned in early.

I asked Princess what her favorite part of the trip was and she said playing with Cousin H. When we were reading stories last night she was a bit emotional because she misses everyone. I guess that just means I’ll have to start looking for cheap airline tickets again…..

Photo Op

Princess is a poser. Flower refuses to look at the camera. Getting a photo with both of the girls looking at the camera is nearly impossible these days. Since it's been a long time since I posted any photos I thought I'd post a sequence I shot last month. It was a futile attempt to grab a quick picture of the girls on our way out the door one morning. BTW-I accidentally posted these in reverse order so if you want to see them chronologically start from the bottom and go up.