Maylee's Dance Recital

Maylee was in her very first dance recital the beginning of December.  She looked so stinkin' cute!  Miss Erin's mom made the beautiful costumes and Maylee's fit her perfectly.  I think our cute little girl was a tad bit nervous before the recital because she kept asking to go to the bathroom, but she did an amazing job up on the stage.  She didn't even look scared!  She was in a 2-3 year old class and was one of the older students.  

(She thought it was fun to get me with the flowers she got for the recital.  What can I say... my girls love to get their picture taken!)

She finally struck a little pose for me!  Seriously so cute!  She worked hard and we are so proud of her.  Way to go Maylee!

enjoying the weather...

Jeff was able to take a couple of days off the beginning of November, so we filled them with some fun activities!  One day we headed over to South mountain and did a little hike.  The weather was perfect and the hike was simple.  It was nice to be outside and getting a little exercise.  

(Time to recharge with a little snack!)

(Brooklyn was sporting her Elmo socks.  They are sweet!  She has a slight obsession. :)

After hiking up a decent hill for a 3 year old, I said, "Maylee doesn't that make you feel good to make it up that big hill?"

Maylee said, "No, it make me feel tired... of walking!"

But then we pumped her up at how well she was doing and she soon took the lead all the way back to the car.  Then we headed to Culvers for some burgers and custard and then to a golf store to get the golf balls Jeff won from calling into the radio- can't beat a day like that!

Jeff spent the other day off building a bookshelf that I am in LOVE with!  He did an amazing job and it is just what I wanted.  We put it up in Brooklyn's room in a corner, so we have a little book nook!  We get all cuddled up in the pillows and blankets and read.  (Can you tell I once was a teacher?!!)  Picture coming soon. 

Halloween

After all the other Halloween festivities, I was amazed the girls still wanted to put their costumes on when the big day arrived!  I was even more shocked that little Brooklyn even kept her wings on! :)  For dinner we had our traditional mummy dogs and apple monster mouths, then we headed out for some trick or treating.

We just went to a few houses on our street, but the girls loved it.  Brooklyn caught on quickly as Maylee took the lead.  Brooklyn however thought you were supposed to eat the candy right when you got it, so she lagged behind a bit as she tried to bust into her bag!

(trying to take a little peek while walking down the street!)

(Going through the loot!  They didn't waste any time to see the goods they scored.)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween day

Halloween is a fun day for more than just the trick-or-treating (and candy!)... it is my mom's birthday!  Our new tradition is taking my mom to lunch at Cafe Rio, so this year we took advantage of being out in Gilbert and went to a little farm.  The girls had a good time walking through the pumpkin patch, seeing the animals and chickens, playing in the jumper, and finding their way through a hay maze.  Maylee liked the hay maze a lot more than I thought they would.

(on the hayride... it was sunny... it got hot)

(this is pretty much what Brooklyn wanted to do the whole time- forget about the animals and bouncer, she was hungry!)

Halloween festivities!

Halloween definitely seemed like more than one day this year.  It started the week before and continued!  We got plenty of use out of their cute costumes.  

Toddler Time at the library was so much fun the week before Halloween.  They had the kids wear their costumes, listen to Halloween books and songs, and then the kids went trick-or-treating to different stations in the library.  They even had a little craft at the end!  Our library does an amazing job with the activities for the kids.

 We also had our ward Halloween party on the Friday night.  The girls had a fun time wearing their costumes and doing the different booths.  

I was shocked Brooklyn kept the wings and tutu on for most of the night.

 Maylee was hilarious.  She did the cupcake walk and won a cupcake and then just sat right back down in the chair to eat it.  And it was a big cupcake.  It took her awhile to eat it.  She seemed confused as to why everyone was still walking around her.  I guess she just wanted a place to sit and enjoy her treat.  Funny thing- they kept calling her number to win a cupcake.  They finally just remembered what number chair she was in and would pick out another one if they called her chair.

 A Halloween play-date at grandma's house!  Halloween BINGO and pumpkin cookies!

October Happenings

Maylee has dance every Tuesday morning.  She comes home saying all the ballet terms that she learns and has her barbies do the moves!

 More zoo trips in the fabulous weather!

 Jeff and I were able to celebrate the end of busy season with a fancy-shmancy date.  We went to a nice steakhouse in Scottsdale and then got cupcakes from Sprinkles for dessert (and yes, Jeff's steak was truly as big as his monstrous plate!)

Fall break fun

The cousins were out of school for fall break and Jeff went out of town, so the girls and I packed up and spent the night over at April and Rob's house.  We had the girls do some fun halloween activities and also hit up Desert Breeze Park to splash, play, and ride the train.  

(spider suckers!)

(ghosts!)

(Maylee all of a sudden likes to strike a pose in pictures.  It is still painful to get her to smile in pics, but she doesn't mind busting out a move apparently!)

(This is what Brooklyn enjoyed doing while the rest of the kids played in the splash pad)

(the fun train ride!)

Pretty in PINK

Maylee started taking a ballet class on Tuesday mornings.  She takes dancing to a whole new level when we dance at home now.  She does spins, twirls, and prances around with her "ballerina hands" out.  I know she is having fun and I can't wait to see her in the recital!

our little swimmer!

Maylee completed her first year in swim lessons!  The first few days there was a lot of anxiety, but then she did AMAZING!  We are so proud of our little lady.  She was so brave and can pretty much swim in the water.  Yay, for Maylee!  By the last day, she went all the way across the width of the pool!!! :)  Mrs. Erin was a great teacher.

And, seriously- how cute is she in goggles and flippers!!  LOVE IT!

Greer

This summer has been all about little vacations- it is the only way to survive the summers in AZ!  The beginning of June we went to California, the beginning of July we went to Jeff's cabin, and to keep up with the tradition of going somewhere the beginning of each month- the beginning of August we went to Greer, AZ!

My family bought the BuyWithMe before the fire, but I am SO happy we still went!  It was beautiful!  We stayed at the Greer Lodge Resort and it had all the amenities- fly fishing ponds, bikes and bike trailers, horseshoes, frisbees, balls,.. pretty much anything to play with outside.  

We arrived on Wednesday night, August 10 (on April and Robert's birthday!) and played Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and came home on Sunday.  Here are some pics from the trip:

The river was quite cold, but it didn't stop the kiddos from getting their feet in!  Robert and Cailin even floated a little section of the river in a tube.

The meadow area was absolutely beautiful!  It was especially nice with the kids.  They could run around as much as they wanted without any obstacles in the way.  We threw the frisbee around, flew some kites, and tackled grandpa on the blanket! :)

The bike trailers were perfect.  We were ALL able to go on a bike ride... somehow the passengers got worn out...

We also went for a hike, had a treasure hunt for the kiddos, soaked in the hot tub, did a little fishing in the ponds, and shot the BB gun.  

I am so grateful we were able to make the trip!  With kids, this was the perfect place.