Playing in the Snow

Here are some pics of the kids having fun playing in the snow the day after the Polar Express...

Madison, Natalie & Addison

Guhner

My cutie all bundled up!

Natalie loved making snow angels

Natalie & Daddy building something

Natalie & Mommy having a snowball fight...

Natalie obviously winning that fight :-)

Polar Express

Back in the 2nd week of December we took our annual trip on the Polar Express. This year we went with our friends the Millers, the McCleves, & the Johnsons. A few days before we went up there Flagstaff got a TON of snow! It made for an awesome trip because it felt that much more like Christmas. Natalie LOVED playing in all the snow & Alexis was her normal mellow self & just hung out. We had a great time & can't wait until next year!

All the kids (expect the McCleves)

Natalie & Addison

Natalie was so happy to see Santa!!

Alexis wasnt into Santa this year

Family Pictures

A few weeks ago we had new family pictures taken. We used the same photographer that took Alexis' newborn photos. We love pictures she took! If anyone in the Phoenix area ever needs a photographer we would HIGHLY recommend Erin McFarland. She creates the most beautiful pictures we have ever seen and we are always blown away by the shots she gets of our family. Erin put some of her favorites on her blog & if you would like to see them click on the link below...

http://emlifephoto.com/Blog/?p=1127

Enjoy!

Christmas Tree

This year we decided to try to cut down our own Christmas tree. We went with our friends the Millers up north to find our tree. It was definitely an experience! Natalie loved every minute...Alexis looked like the kid from a Christmas story. Her hat was too big so you can barely see her little face (which also made it hard to walk), I couldn't get her mittens though the arm holes because they were too big as well, & I decided to try a new pair of shoes on her that she has never walked with. Alexis couldn't move so she wasn't very happy with us. Even with Alexis being miserable she wasn't that bad & it was a fun experience!

Halloween 2009

Our Halloween started by going to a party & parade at Natalie's school. It is always fun to see Natalie interacting with all of her school friends. Friday night we had a family Halloween party to attend so I dressed up as Dorothy. Let me tell you how hard it was to find an adult women's costume that was appropriate to wear! I had only 2 options so I went with Dorothy since my hair would work best with that costume. Natalie picked out her Sleeping Beauty costume & my friend Christine let me borrow Addison's old Tinkerbell costume. Since it was cool out on Friday night I put Alexis in Natalie's old lamb costume. Both the girls looked adorable in all their costumes! Then on Halloween we went trick or treating with our friends the Edwards. Kyan was a monkey so I took him up to some of the doors as my flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz.

We had a fun Halloween & enjoy the pictures..

Halloween 2009

California Trip

We wanted to see Disneyland decorated for Halloween so we took the girls to Cali in the middle of Oct. We then found out that the Dodgers were in the playoffs & there was a home game the Friday we were going to be in Cali. Since we have never been to a playoff game & I have never been to Dodger stadium we got tickets to the game. It was an awesome experience & it was the only game the Dodgers won against the Phillies during the playoffs so it was fun to be there. It was cool to see my Aunt Mary, Uncle Louis & cousin Tara at the game because they are HUGE Dodger fans!

On Saturday & Sunday we spent all day at Disneyland. Alexis was a lot more into Disney than I thought she would be at this age. She enjoyed going on the rides & I could tell she understood what was going on because she was laughing & pointing at stuff. She also wasn't scared of the characters! Natalie of course couldn't have been happier. The last time we went she got into pin trading so she had a great time doing that again. She even got Bryan into it too! On Saturday we mostly tried to do rides & on Sunday we went looking for characters. We loved all the Halloween decorations & the Halloween fireworks show is probably the best we have EVER seen! Cant really say enough about Disney because always have a great time.

Enjoy all the pictures..

California Trip

Pumpkin Patch

My friend Amy and I took our kids for our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch. We went to the same farm as last year & the kids had a great time. It really makes me want to build a pit of corn in our backyard because again it was their favorite part! Every time we have an event like this I realize how hard it is to get good pics of my girls together. Oh well at least they are in the pictures together so we know they were both there :-)

Pumpkin Patch

Alexis gets her 1st haircut

On Oct 4th Aunt Jeannie gave Alexis her 1st haircut! At first Alexis did really well. No crying, just sat there. I don't know if she suddenly realized what was going on, but then she didn't want anything to do with it! She looked really cute once it was over, but we didnt get any pics of the end result!

Trip To New York

For our 30th birthdays, my Dad surprised us with a trip to New York. We were able to see almost all of my family that lives there, went to a Yankees game, went to Times Square, played on the beach, & spent time with my Dad. The girls were both so good on the flights & we had a great trip.

Click on the picture below to see all of the pictures....

New York Trip

Natalie's 1st day of school

Back in August Natalie started school again. This will be Natalie's last year of Preschool then it is off to Kindergarten next year! She is going Monday - Friday every morning and has been really enjoying it. She is only 1 of 2 girls in the class..the rest are boys. I was worried about that at first but Natalie doesn't mind..she will play with anyone!

Birthdays!

In July we had a busy birthday month in our family. Bryan and I both turned 30 & Alexis turned 1. Bryan and my friend Erin planned a surprise party for me & then the next weekend we had Lexi's 1st birthday party.

Here are pictures from both celebrations..

Christina & Alexis' Birthday Parties

Portland Trip

I know it has been a LONG time since I updated our blog so I have A LOT of stuff to post. Here are pictures from our trip to Portland we took in July. Portland is BEAUTIFUL!! We were able to go to see waterfalls, the beach, the Tillamook cheese factory, breweries, the Zoo, and had a great time with Ian & Cortney. After spending time there we can see why Ian & Cortney moved to Oregon.

Click on the picture below to see the album.

Portland Trip

Our "Staycation"

Last weekend we went to a phoenix resort for a "staycation." We stayed at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Friday & Sat nights. The resort was really nice and we had a great time with the McCleves! The resort is built into the mountain (hence the name of the place) so it was a bit of a hike to our room & parking was interesting. The kids all had fun swimming together in the pools & Alexis & Gauge did really well for their ages. The only downside was the one water slide they had was completely enclosed so it was too scary for Addison & Natalie to go on. They wouldn't let parents ride with the kids so they didn't get to go on the slide. I don't think the girls really minded so it worked out.

Happy Father's Day

Unfortunately Bryan had to work all weekend including father's day. Bryan's grandparents were in town from Bullhead so we went to Susan & Corky's Fri, Sat, & Sun. Natalie got to swim everyday which made her happy! After Bryan got off work yesterday we spent the day in the pool hanging out. It was a nice relaxing day & it was fun to spend time with family. For father's day I had a landscaper come over & clean up the front & backyard so Bryan didn't have worry about it anymore. I was really proud of myself for coming up with that idea & not letting Bryan know ahead of time. Usually Bryan always figures out what I am getting him because I am horrible @ keeping secrets. Bryan said he was surprised & it was a great gift so mission accomplished!

Swim Lesson Pictures

Bryan was able to go watch swim lessons this past week so he took some pictures. Alexis is still doing so great! I think her favorite part is hanging on the wall, but she lets me do all the exercises. Natalie has already shown some improvement in the few weeks we have been back @ Hubbard. She is trying to do the actual strokes and is swimming on her stomach more often (rather than her back or underwater). It will be interesting to see where they both are at when the summer is over.

Boat Time

Yesterday we took the boat out for the first time this season. This also was Alexis' first trip to the lake and we had PERFECT weather! We had a rough start, but once we got out there it was a great day. Natalie has no fear & definitely is not a wimp with cold water like her mom. Once we stopped the boat & told her it was time to swim she would jump off the side even if we weren't in the water. She would then start swimming laps around the boat. Bryan always got in the water with her because it was to cold for me. Alexis is the most mellow baby ever. She just lets us take her anywhere and has a fun time watching what is going on around her!

Our Friday

Yesterday was a very busy day for us. We started the day by going to Addison's 5th birthday party at Build-A-Bear. Natalie has never done a Build-A-Bear and she had a lot of fun with it! She picked a bunny & Christine helped her pick a really cute pink dress. Happy Birthday Addison!!





At the party I was talking to Christine about wanting to do a weight check on Alexis. She recommened a store I could to go to have it done for free. I took Alexis to the store & she now weighs 15 lbs 1 oz. So in 5 weeks she hasnt lost any, but she really has not gained any either. We are going to wait until the end of the month and check it again.


After the weight check we went over to Amy's house to play with Madison. Natalie was really excited to play with Madison & they had a lot of fun together. We ended up taking a walk/hike by Amy's house. Both the girls did really well hiking to the top of the mountain. It was a beautiful view!






Have a great weekend everyone!!