Fall is here

Ok, so now that we all know it may be a 2 month gap between posts :) here is October's.  So life is crazy and wonderful.  We have been having a fantasic time with Emily doing Clog and Lizzy doing Tap.  Both girls love it and it is so great to watch and see their confidence growing.  School is chugging right along for them and both like their classes and teachers.

I wanted to share something so super cool though.  People are so wonderful!  This year Halloween fell on a Sunday and I just couldn't break my kids hearts so during a brainstorming session, a dear friend suggested moving Trick or Treating.  After thinking about it a few minutes, I thought what the hey, why not give this a try?  In the end the kids went trick or treating to 17 houses on Saturday and had "the best day ever" (Emily).  So a huge thank you to all the amazing families that participated!  Please don't think the girls were having some sad Halloween though, they each had a party at their dance classes, a party in their school class, Trunk or Treating plus Trick or Treating.  So there is a definite lack of candy here ;).  So here are our little animals, a Tiger, Bunny and Monkey.  Happy Fall!

Back to School

Well, it's that time again, the kiddos are off to school!  Lizzy is in morning Kindergarten and Emily is in Second grade.  So that just leaves Jackson and me :).  Here are some shots from the first day of school.....

I also want to note here that all their little friends picked skirts for the first day of school but both Emily and Lizzy picked shorts and sneakers :).

The girls also ran in a kid's race in Florence.  They did so great!  Emily was the first girl and Lizzy the third, way to go girls!  You can see Jackson over there cheering for Lizzy as she came in :).

Serious Catching Up To Do

Ok so this time it took me 2 months to post again!  Summer is here and in full swing!  Our days have been spent at the park, eating lunch at the school with friends, trips to bowling and roller skating and of course swimming.  We have had some super amazing guests, my parents and Anthony came for a week and my grandma came for the weekend.  A trip up to Littleton to see my Uncle who came in from Hawaii and hang out with Aunt Pam, Uncle George, Alli, Scott and their sweet children.  A surprise trip with my Aunt to see Stacia and Charlie for their engagement party and Jackson turned 2!  It seems like it  is all going so fast!  Here are some shots from our summer.....

Jackson turns 2!  We did an Elmo cake and he just loved it.

Jackson got a Mr. Potato head for his birthday and has adopted his glasses, too funny!

Surprising Stacia was the best thing ever!  I have never heard her scream so loud before :).  Aunt Pam was also the most amazing traveling companion there could be!

You wonder what does he do once we put him to bed?....

Let the Summer Begin!

Well, summer is officially here and our cousins came down and helped us start it with a bang!  A day on the lake and another at the caves, way too much fun!  The girls loved spending time with their cousins and it was great to see them.  Here are some shots from the lake....  The water was a little cool but the kids had a great time on the tube and swimming on the shore.

Then it was off to Cave of the Winds, some amazing caves up in Manitou Springs.  Our guide "Lennon" was awesome with the kids, they followed him everywhere and I would definitely recommend requesting him if you go!

Two Little Dancers

Well, I think I am just going to aim for once a month since I can't seem to keep this updated.  May has been wonderful.  Lizzy just finished preschool and will be heading into Kindergarten next year, crazy!  She will have Emily's old teacher and I don't think she is quite prepared for our "special" little girl ;).  Emily finishes school tomorrow and is so excited for summer.  A few weeks ago Joe found her poor little kitten after being hit by a car.  It just crushed poor Emily but a friend has a litter and Emily gets to pickup her new little one tomorrow too.  We will miss you Tiger Lilly!

The girls also had their dance recital and did so well.  It was a very cute production.  I can't load the video, it is too large but here are some pictures...

It's that time again!

Well, this time I am over a month since my last post, boy am I a slacker :).   So below is going to be a major photo overload so we can get caught-up........

In March I was able to go on a field trip with Emily and her class to see Beauty and the Beast along with touring a local museum.  I really love being with her at school and it makes me sad to think of the days when she will no longer want me to volunteer anymore :).  Right now I volunteer every other week and whenever I leave she gets a little sad and her eye start glistening.  Then it makes me sad too that I can't volunteer all day!

We had a really great time on the field trip though. 

During a playdate we decided to let Jackson water color with the girls and he did such a great job!  He was such a cute little man until Lizzy's friends Dad came to get her and splashed in the paint water.  I was cleaning the splatter off the walls for the rest of the day, he really gets into it :)

The girls and I also went to see Disney on Ice.  It was such a wonderful night!  Thank you Joe for keeping Jackson so we could have a little girl's night :).  Their faces just lit up when they saw the Incredibles, all the Princesses and so many others.  It was so nice to see that Emily still loved it too, they grow up so fast!

And here is out little gang!  Love to all!

Citizen of the Month

Miss Emily earned Citizen of the Month for Responsibility at her school!  What an amazing girl she is!  She really does amaze me all the time with just how wonderful she is in every way (she has her moments too ;)) but we are so proud of her!  It is kept a surprise until the assembly at school where they are honored, so it was too funny when she walked in with her class and saw Joe, Jackson, Lizzy and I at the back of the room.  She announced "I get to get a water bottle!!!", the important part of the whole thing ;D.  It was really wonderful that 2 of her friends also received Student of the Month that day too, Abby and Aubrie.

So Old!

Well, it is hard to say but all my kids are getting so old!  Emily turned 7 this month, can you believe it?  We celebrated as a family at home and her cake of choice?  Cheesecake!  :)  Lizzy and I made one that day while she was at school and then the evening was a yummy dinner, gifts and cake.  She also chose to go skating on Saturday and did amazing on her rollerblades (I forgot the camera of course!) but it was a great time.  Joe kept Jackson at home and Lizzy came along too.  By the end of the session she was skating on her own too.  Oh how old they both are!  Happy Birthday Emily, we love you!

Dancing Feet

The girls started dance! Lizzy is in Ballet and Emily is in Hip-hop Jazz. They are both super cute at practice. Lizzy is definitely outgoing and this is her forte while Emily is coming into her own. In each of their classes they also have several of their little girlfriends which make it super fun. The pics of Lizzy crack me up. She loved posing for the windows where she could see her reflection, so Lizzy! :)

Birthday presents!

The girls have been begging for a pet, so can you guess what they got for their birthdays from Mom and Dad? Two little kittens. With Emily's birthday in the beginning of February we decided to just get 2 together now so they could be little playmates. What fun little things they are too!

Lizzy picked out the black and orange/brown one and Emily the Calico. Emily named hers Jasmine and Lizzy named hers Angel. We found the two through a lady on craigslist. Lizzy's kitten had been thrown from a car window when she was just 3 weeks old and landed in the snow. The lady driving behind saw the whole thing and rescued the kitten and took her to another friend whom she knew had a nursing cat. So Jasmine and Angel became "sisters" as it were and Lizzy just loved that her kitten had a special story. They are hilarious to watch together and I love the fact that they are garage cats, so out they go after the kids are done holding them.

Oh to catch-up again!

Well slowly but surely I am starting to get caught-up on life. We went to North Carolina for 3 weeks over the holidays and had amazing time! The girls were able to see the Nutcracker with their "Gaga" and we were able to spend Christmas and New Year's with family. We got the great news that my little sister is engaged and the girls were asked to be flower girls at their wedding. Jackson man will also be the ring bearer, too fun.

Since we got home, we finally got all the presents put away and are still working on thank you cards, sorry everyone! One super cool thing is that Lizzy turned 5 on the 12th of January! She is getting so big! We did a princesses birthday party at home with friends. This year we tried just inviting 5 friends and her cousins down from Strasburg and it was such a great time! The princesses made door hangers, painted nails, popped candy balloons and were filled to the brim with sugar!

T o my wonderful Lizzy, I love you girl! You make me smile everyday with all your crazy ways. I love how you always want to help and make people smile, you are a gift to mom and dad and we are so grateful to be your parents!