happy halloween

my little monsters.....

today...

Today she's five!

ten on tuesday

I know it's Thursday, but it's been a while. 

1.  Ava will be five in only one day!  I asked her "how did that happen? What am I going to do?" She said "you still have Jack mom." 

2.  This birthday is a BIG one.  She's been asking about it for around 7 months.  We've been counting down on the chalkboard for over a month and she knows exactly what she wants....dsi, pillow pet, Red Lobster.

3.  I picked myself up a birthday present last week.  More on that later :)

4. My baby brother flew in from Italy yesterday! It's been several years since he's been home so we are all excited to see him.

5.  Do you use groupon.com?  I've picked up a couple smokin deals over there recently.  Gap, Lavenders Day Spa, AZ science center....

6.  Here we go again....fall activities are here.  Lily's in soccer and dance.  Ava's in dance.  They will be in ballet and tap together! Jack loves playing at soccer practice with his bff "Blate" and I'm back to swimming.

7.  Did you pick up your Polar Express tickets yet?  They're selling out.  Of course I procrastinated until last week and didn't get our perfect date but our second choice.  We are looking forward to our 4th trip to the North Pole!

8. I'm getting old and I feel it.  I ran a 10k last week and my hips haven't been the same.  I took about a week off.  I ran 4.5 miles yesterday and now I'm limping again.  Scott and I are training for  triathlon next month so this is not cool.  Taking another week off to swim, bike and stretch.  Hopefully I can run 5k next week.

9. I've been attempting to take a picture a day for the past two years.  It's really difficult to lug the camera around everywhere but since I've had my iPhone I take photos all the time.  I fount this amazing app that puts them right on a calendar I love it!

10. I love the summer.  I'm going to miss it so.  You know those songs that bring you back to a period or moment in time?  What was yours this summer?  My summer theme song is California Gurls for sure!  It started rotation around the time we were in San Diego and take me right back to that amazing trip.  It's a favorite of the kiddos too.

Until next time....

the seventh year

This was her at six. No teeth. Independent. Sassy. Heart of gold. Growing up.

Lily's choice of music:
Party in the USA -Miley Cyrus
Hey Soul Sister-Train

almost five

It's a rite of passage in our house, getting your ears pierced.  Mine were pierced at five, Lily had hers pierced just before her fifth birthday and now Ava, who will be turning five in only 12 days.  She's been looking forward to it since her sisters were done.  The past few months she said she was scared and wasn't going to pierce them ever! But last week she changed her mind.  There has been quite a bit of anticipation around here with her birthday coming up.  It's all she's talked about for days.  So daddy and I agreed that Saturday would be the big day. 

It was the first thing she talked about after waking.  She was giddy with excitement all the way to the mall.  She chose the crystal flowers, held her daddy's hand and closed her eyes.  Pop! She opened them, with a delayed "Ouch! That hurt." And cried. 

My baby girl is growing up :)

seven

Waaaaaaay back on July 31st Lily celebrated her seventh birthday!  Can you believe my big girl is seven!  This is her on her birthday eve, seconds before a monster monsoon rolled in.

1. What's your favorite color? pink
2. What's your favorite thing to eat? stroganoff
3. What is your favorite toy? dsi xl
4. What do you want to be when you grow up? photographer
5. Who is your best friend? taryn
6. What was the best part of your summer? spending time with my family
7. What was the best part about turning seven? going to wet n wild!

Slideshow coming up next :)

first days

School already?  I must say, the first week of August in AZ is way to hot for school.  We belong in the pool until mid September!  But with no choice in the matter, both girls started school this week.  I love the lazy days of summer and will miss sleeping until 7am, but I'm excited for the routine of being on a schedule again. 

Monday Ava started pre-k!  She's at a new school five days a week.  So far she loves it!  I think her favorite park is bringing her own snack.  The hardest part is missing her old friends who started kindergarten.  Definitely a negative of starting preschool early.

Thursday Lily had her first day of the 2nd grade!  She is thrilled to have her best friend from kindergarten in her class again.  2nd grade is going to be a big year of change.  No characters, no yo kids, no mommy styling the hair. She's growing up!

 

pre-k

Having a girls night so blogging from the iPhone. Ava had her first day of pre-k today! She has been   quite nervous the past few week. New school, new teacher, new friends. She walked in brave and had a fantastic day! The big highlight of pre-k is bringing her own snack and going to school everyday just like her big sister. What a big girl she has become. 

san diego - day three

Day three was Legoland!   Friends had given mixed reviews about Legoland but I was sure our kids would enjoy it.  They love big, fast rides.  And they did, but here's my review. The park was only open from 10am-6pm, which only left time for about 8 rides.  We had hopper tickets but didn't use them since the Sea Life Aquarium is now in Tempe and and we have summer passes to Wet and Wild.  The park was clean and the food was good.  The rides however were less than I expected.  Enough for the girls, but none for Jack! He was only able to ride on one itty bitty train.  I felt terrible.  My fault for not checking the height requirements, I just assumed because he was able to ride so many at Disneyland.  Ava was a bit short for the tallest height requirements, so she pulled out the wedge sandals :) Thank you Target.  The girls thought the rides were fun, but short.  They love the big roller coasters over everything!  Overall we had a great time but probably won't return until Jack is 42". 

On our way home I broke out the handy iPhone to yelp  the nearest restaurants and found Pelly's.  Amazing fresh seafood.  Next time you're in Carlsbad I highly recommend you check them out. 

We made it home, tucked the kiddos in bed and took a walk on the boardwalk.  When we walked in the door Grammy was going on about the earthquake.  What? We didn't feel a thing! My 2nd earthquake (1st was on Easter) and haven't felt a thing.  Thinking back later that night it made sense why the pool we passed on our walk had large waves and no one in it....

I had the big camera along so not too many iPhone photos.

san diego - day two

Day one we drove, checked out the beach, ate dinner and crashed.  Day two we planted our butts in the sand!  The morning was sunny and beautiful. Lily learned to boogie board and loved it! Jack and Ava preferred playing in the sand.  Our place on Mission Bay/Beach was in walking distance to everything.  After having lunch and leaving Jack with Grammy, we headed back to the beach to catch a few more waves.  When the kiddos were clean and fed Scott and I went out on the town!  Thanks to Grammy we had more dates that week than we do in a month at home.