Girls Day

Saturday was our girls day, and what a day it was!
5 hours of shopping and lunch... I don't think I've ever hung out at a mall
for that length of time before.
It was so fun though. Kayla and I both had makeovers and we all enjoyed looking at jewelry, clothes and more.
We purchased stick on diamonds at Claires and we all wore them on our noses.
I must say we all looked pretty good with "pierced noses". :)
If only I could get the courage...
We ended at Nana's house with dinner and chatting... and kicking our feet up.
We've decided to make it a monthly tradition.
Kelsey, Joann... you in??

Art with Nana

We are so lucky to have Nana and her casita in our family.
The kids love to work in the casita, making stained glass, bowls and clay
creations. They are always bringing the coolest things home and it makes them
so happy and proud to create art with Nana!

JuneBug

She is here! We've had this kitty for 3 days now and it is going so well.
I was a little nervous to bring a kitten home because I've always been a dog person and I know what to do with puppies.
I have learned in 3 short days that kittens are much MUCH easier than puppies and I had nothing to worry about. We showed her her litter box and put her in it a few times. That took care of the potty training.
There is no crying or howling at night, no outside potty runs at 3 AM.
I'm a little tired because I am getting up with her once or twice because she is so tiny and gets a little lost sometimes. And the claws are definitely something we will have to think about, as I can see household destruction in our near future. :)
Other than that... piece of cake. Abby loves her and is gentle as can be which I had counted on.
Lucy considers her a new playmate which is nice, but still needs to be supervised as Lucy is still a young pup herself.
Kayla is a new mommy and it is very cute. She carries the kitty everywhere and cleans the litter box and does about 70% of the care. The kitten meows for Kayla when she isn't around and follows her everywhere. She definitely considers Kayla to be her Mommy.
I feel that our brood is complete here and my life is almost exactly as I had always hoped it would be. The only difference is that I thought I'd have a husband, kids, dog at my feet, dog in my lap and cat up by my shoulder on the couch.
Turns out that the cat sleeps in my lap and Lucy sleeps up on the top of the couch by my shoulder. But hey- not too far off the plan!!!

Horses

Kayla started horseback riding lessons today and it was an absolute dream for all of us. I love those moments with kids when you see them totally light up... when they are at their absolute happiest. For Kayla that is when she is on stage in a play or now, on a horse's back.
I think her face must hurt after all that smiling she did today!
Buster Brown is the horse she'll be riding in lessons and he is such a gentle guy.
What I love about this particular instructor is that she believes in teaching the child absolutely everything about a horse and it's care.
Kayla has to bridle and saddle her horse (with some help because the saddle is as big as her) and brush and clean the horse, right down to his hooves.
On days that will be too hot to ride, she will spend her lesson time bathing the horse and mucking out his stall.
The goal of this particular instructor is to teach the child to be totally comfortable and efficient at not only riding a horse but caring for one.
Some of her students have gone on to become proficient enough to buy their own horse which she then boards for them on her property.
It was a cool and overcast day here in AZ so it was a treat for all of us to sit and watch Kayla during her first lesson!

Buddies

I absolutely love the friendship that has blossomed between the kids and our across the street neighbors. Kayla and Bailey are such good buddies and even though Ethan is older than Collin, they spend a lot of time together too.
It's so nice for Collin to have a boy buddy to hang with. He loves his female friends for sure, but every now and again he likes to pretend to have sword fights and shoot-outs or vampire fights. What a great summer this has been so far with these kids! (And yes I do believe that Kayla's friend, Bailey is destined to be a super-model) :)

Meet JuneBug

Coming soon to an animal loving household near you.
Another animal to adore, hold and oooh and awww over. Another animal to annoy us. :)
Yes, we will have quite the menagerie here and we love it!
That's how we roll.

Collin's haircut

I love Collin's full head of blonde hair, so months often go by before I realize he probably really needs a haircut.
And then I watch, sadly, while they chop off his beautiful hair.
I didn't plan to take pictures of his haircut today but when I saw how much hair was actually being cut and how long it had really gotten I had to document it! :)

Tug O-War

Kayla's teeth

She now has two teeth missing!
Her teeth were obviously more than ready to come out as the adult
teeth were clearly visible upon the little teeth falling (well... being pulled by me)
out!

And the winner is....

O Grace Photography! Yay!!
Last night was Arizona Bride Magazine's "best of" party and it was a blast.
Great food, drinks and great people.
Awards were given in each wedding vendor category (photography, florists, etc..)
and O Grace won for the third year in a row!
I was very excited for Jen and also happy to be a part of her special night and her company.
We had a little goofy fun in the photo booth before leaving the party.

Sinking Daddy

"Cannonball!"
I hear it every day when Tim jumps in to the pool. The kids love it!
Next to Tim's Cannonball and pretending to be merpeople, their next favorite thing is to try to sink Daddy.

Burger Trees

Collin has a new love for hamburgers.
He has always had an aversion to meats other than chicken nuggets.
But this new fondness started after trying Grandma's loose meat hamburgers.
So every now and again we get him a burger.
The other day we found him picking sesame seeds off of his burger buns.
After asking him what he was doing, he said, "I'm going to plant these seeds so that
I can grow a burger tree. Then I can just go to my backyard any time I want a burger."

Trip to Colorado

Our spontaneous trip to Colorado turned out to be a well timed and perfect trip.
We got to be there for Jack's birthday, the Air Force Academy Thunderbird show and
the first week of summer break from school that several of our friends and family had. This might be the week to visit every year (although we might just have to switch between May and August every year as my sweet nephew, Nicky reminded me)

Papa Tom's birthday

May was the month of which I am not ready to speak.
I will write about it some day soon I hope... maybe even tomorrow.
But for now all I can say is that May was a tough tough month to say the least.
BUT there were some highlights as there are during any difficult time and one of them was Papa Tom's birthday. We were so sad to miss Tim's birthday while in Michigan, but so happy to have a bright spot last month in celebrating Tom's birthday. Cupcakes, laughter and good company. What a fun night!
Thanks for coming over and bringing a party to us Tom and Joann!!!
You always brighten our days.

The zoo with Grandma Elephant

We love the Phoenix Zoo! It is always a treat to visit and this time Grandma came with us!

I must say it was a kick to see her brushing the goats at the petting zoo!


The goats seemed to really love her.



We got to learn about the Golden Eagle. Collin had lots of questions!




The zoo has a new up close portion to their elephant exhibit! Perfect for Kayla and Grandma Elephant!



What a great day!