Alex gets a new bike.

Alex got a new bike the other day from my dad and mom (Papa and nana). I was so excited. We have bought at least two bikes in the past for Sydney and she has wanted NOTHING to do with them. Since we've been playing with the kids in the neighborhood, who all have bikes, Alex has been dying to get a bike. My dad is a firm believer in every kid knowing how to ride a bike. So Nana and Papa came down, got a bike, and wanted to help Alex learn how to ride. I wanted the training wheels on, but Papa said no! He said it would take her twice as long to learn. I remembered having training wheels when I was little but he said I didn't. Ok, ok, I'm not going to argue with my dad so the training wheels stayed off. After a few close calls, one major fall, and a scraped knee Alex was getting the hang of her bike. My back was killing me from holding her up straight (training wheels would have helped this but me and my dad rarely agree on anything when it comes to kids). She was falling less and lees and then.......

She was off and riding. Two days flat and she can ride her bike!! I was surprised after her big fall that the very next day she wanted to get right back on and try again. Yay for Alex! I can't believe it only took a few days, she rocks!

Sydney on the other hand could still care less about riding a bike! She'll play outside with everyone but doesn't really like to try to ride Alex's bike.

I was so proud of Sydney when she did ask if she could try to ride the bike too. She went up the road once and that was enough for her. I had so much fun helping Alex learn to ride her bike. I want to get a bike too now, so I can ride with her.

The best gifts come from Dad

Clay will no longer be working under big lights any more at night. Now, we'll all be on the same schedule again, Yippee! So, to celebrate him not working nights anymore, he decided to bring home a treasure trove of BUGS and other various living things for the girls. I have no idea what this bug is. It was hard to take a picture because he was moving so fast all over the place. It also flies. If you know what it is, we'd love to know so leave us a comment!
Daddy brought home 5 or 6 huge moths. These are the girls favorite. They love to hold them. I know huh, Girls and Bugs?? They were soooo excited when dad got out all the bugs, you would have thought it was Christmas morning.

Special Delivery just from Dad. What could it be??

Frogs......YAY!

Alex holding the smaller of the two frogs. These were fun to watch hop around. Then off into the wet grass they went. Hopefully they stick around for a little while. I think I'll leave the porch light on for them tonight so they can eat some bugs.

He was one happy frog once he got to the wet grass.

What are bugs without the beetle. This was a big one. Once he hit the dirt he started digging and before we knew it he was gone! Thanks Dad for all the gifts!

Lasr trip of summer....part 2

When we were in Phoenix visiting grandma, Aunt Chalice called and said she was coming down to visit too! YAY!! That meant we not only got to see her and the kids, we also got to hold the new baby! That in itself is worth the long hot drive to Phoenix. Grandma had a few new toys for the grandkid's. These swords were one of them. Wow, did the kids have a good time. By the end of the first night we had to hide the swords to get some peace and quiet.

Sydney with her cousins Autumn and Braydn. Alex was somewhere playing with the other cousins, Shayn, and Colton.

Then Alex (a bigger baby hog than me), got to hold the new baby Treyson. She loves to hold babies. I think she's going to be a big fan of babies and kids just like her mom when she grows up!

When Treyson woke up I finally got to hold him! Then luckily Alex went to go play with the kids, so it was moms turn to hold and snuggle the little guy!

What a special little boy. I loved every minute of getting to visit with him. He was so tiny. He reminded me so much of Sydney. My kids are growing up sooooo fast, it made me a little sad. That's what sister in-laws are for though...... they have the babies and Aunt Roxy gets to love on them!

Then Aunt Amy brought over Harrison (who Alex also got to hold, like I said, baby hog!). Our two newest nephews meeting each other for the first time. Harrison couldn't keeps his eyes off of Treyson. They're going to be good buds I think.

Thanks Aunt Amy and Aunt Chalice for sharing your little boys with us. Now that we've had our baby fix, we can concentrate on school. We hope to see you guys soon!! Love ya.

I loved these pictures so much I just had to post them. The kids were so happy when we finally left for school, I think they were sick of taking pictures. Between their mom and dad, I think we got the first day of school pretty much covered.Sydney: First day of Third Grade!
Alex: First day of First Grade!

Good luck girls, have a great year!

Last trip of summer....part one

Can you tell by our stylish shoes what we did with Grandma and Grandpa? Yep, we went bowling!! The shoes were totally hideous (the girls shoes were actually cute), but we had so much fun. We can't wait to go bowling again. The girls were a little scared at first. They had been to bowling alley before but never really gone bowling.
Then they started bowling and there was no stopping them! Sydney was very good at reminding you when it was your turn. The scoreboard was very entertaining to watch. Whether you missed all the pins or got a strike there was a little cartoon that followed. The girls would always run back after their turn to watch the score board.

Aunt Amy met us there and bowled with us. It was so fun, we laughed all night long. We missed baby Harrison, but it was so loud in there he wouldn't have had much fun. We're glad he let us borrow his mom for a few hours. What a crack up, we love you Amy!

Even though Alex bowled granny style she was still able to get a STRIKE! Sydney got one too! They were so excited. I think all the adults got a few strikes that night. If I remember right Grandpa beat us all both times!

We had a great time with grandma and grandpa. The perfect end to a great summer.

First day of school.

(Don't forget to pause the music ---->, so you can hear the video).

The first day of school was quite the event this year. We got home from Mesa Sunday night, jumped in the tub, went right to bed, and before we knew it our alarms were going off. I pushed snooze this morning, in the end, we ran a little late. We made it to school in one piece. The girls were so excited to see their friends. I took Alex to her class to meet her teacher, Sydney went to find her friends ( I had to ask her teacher if she made it to class, I didn't see her the whole day!). Sydney loves her 3rd grade teacher and Alex knew her 1st grade teacher, she was Sydney's first grade teacher as well, so there was no crying or being scared for them (good thing because mom was having a hard enough time not crying). I love my schedule this year. I'm going to be busy all day, that makes the day go by fast. I can't wait for Friday to get here, I need to clean my house. I'm glad the FIRST day is over. We're looking forward to a fun year at school. Bring on the three day weekends!! Like we could forget that little fun fact!

One last Hoo-Rah!!

We decided to have a water party at our house. One final celebration before school starts on Monday. We invited a bunch of friends, had yummy snacks, and played in the water all day!
There were so many kids on the slide, they looked like little ants, all in a row waiting for their turn to go down. I'm glad to say no one got seriously hurt, there wasn't any major fighting, and the whining only started when the kids had to get off the slide and out of the pools to go home. We had such a great time! A few of the moms even tried the slide (me included). What a blast!

Since there won't be school on Friday's this year, we plan on having a few more water parties while the weather is warm. We have one more HOT trip to Phoenix planned then it's off to school. I for one would love to have a few more weeks of summer, if not a month more. The kids are so excited to get back. We checked their class list, both girls are going to have the teacher I preferred, they also have many of their friends from last year who will be in their class. I'm not sure what I'll be doing at the school this year. I should find out tomorrow, it's our first full day back for the teachers and staff. I hope it doesn't change much from the kids and teachers I was working with last year. We'll see.

Thank Heaven For Little Girls?

I thought since I had little girls I was safe. I thought our days would be full of tea parties, ballet shows, dressing up, nail painting, and lots of other girlie girl things. Wow, was I wrong. My girls are now in their creepy crawly stage (and have been for some time now, just ask Grandma, she got them nothing but bug stuff for Christmas). Their Dad is now contributing to their obsession. He's been working at night, under really big lights. Lights attract bugs. Well, big lights attract BIG bugs. Here are a few pictures of the bugs Daddy has brought home. What a great guy!

Thanks Dad!

Sydney is also in love with SHARKS! It's shark week this week so she's going to be glued to the T.V. I've never seen a girl so into sharks. She has books about them, loves to watch them on t.v. and can just about identify any shark she sees. I'd much rather have bugs in plastic containers than big angry sharks, so Daddy, bring home all the bugs you want (in containers of course!).