Tessia's First VBS Show

As you can tell, Tess was so excited to be a part of it!  lol......

How can a Mama get ready with all this going on?

Dobbins Lookout

Grandma and Grandpa were in for a visit last week and to celebrate Tess' 3rd Birthday.  We were looking for an outing that wasn't too far away and someplace we had never been before.  So, we headed to Dobbins Lookout on South Mountain here in Phoenix.  Dobbins Peak is 2,330 feet in elevation and accessible by car.  It had beautiful panoramic views and bathrooms (very important to us traveling with a 3 year old :) We had a very enjoyable morning climbing on the rocks and feeling the wind in our hair. 

A day in the life.....

Just a regular day for us :)  Watch and see what it's like!

Park with Friends

Veteran's Day was a beautiful day here in Phoenix.  We ventured out to a near by park to have fun with our friends Olivia and Jackson.

Fun with Second Cousins in WI

While spending time in Wisconsin, we were able to get some much needed play time in with cousins Dana and Rachel.  The girls had a blast at the gym!

(don't get me wrong, the video is a little long...sorry!)

 The foam pit was both the best and worst .......

A little Ring Around the Rosy anyone?

Christmas Fun

We got together with our friends to make annual cut out cookies.  The kids especially enjoyed the frosting but did a really nice job all around!

From the Mouths of Babes.....

Aren't kids just the best? 

He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Mark 10:14-16

Halloween with Friends

Tess was an adorable dragon...thanks Aunt Beth!

Abby was a stunning hula girl...again thanks Aunt Beth!

                                              The girls at a local free Halloween Fest

                                             The gang we went trick or treating with :)

Ooooohhhhh.....aren't we scary?

Zoo with Friends

As the weather has cooled, we've been able to enjoy the outdoors more.  Recently, we headed out to the zoo and the kids really enjoyed petting the goats!

Desert Botanical Garden and a trip to the ER

This past weekend a couple of my husbands aunts came to town for a visit.  I searched out something fun to do and we headed down to the Monarch Butterfly Exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden.  It was pretty neat for the kids to see so many butterflies up close.  Tess really loved it and we took lots of pictures. 

The Gardens also had an exhibit of these large wood carvings of animals.  They were pretty awesome to look at. 

After a long and eventful morning we headed up to North Scottsdale for lunch.  We had a huge delicious meal and we were devouring some amazing ice cream cake when disaster struck.  Abby had been playing in a glass cup of water when she knocked it over and it shattered on the table.  I looked over and see the glass and immediately grab her.  In the meantime my husband relays to me that she's bleeding.  I grab a napkin and wrap it around her wrist and hold it tight.  She's screaming her head off so I rush out to the car.  Hubby and aunts scramble to clean up the table, pay the bill, and grab the leftovers.  We immediately head to the Children's ER near our house.  Turns out, she needs 5 stitiches!  Poor baby!  The worst part was holding her still long enough for the doc to get all the sewing done.  After about 20 minutes and 5 icky looking stitches we're all done.  The whole visit lasted just about an hour and as soon as we got in the car, the poor little girl passed out from sheer exhaustion.  She seems to be handling it pretty well!

At the hospital immediately after the stitches

Later that same night...she doesn't seem to be any worse for wear

Using her arm quite well I think

how it looks today


 I pray we don't have another trip to the ER anytime soon - it's way too stressful on mama!

Pinetop: Labor Day Weekend

We traveled north to Pinetop AZ for Labor Day weekend.  We rented a 7 bedroom house for 6 adults and 7 kids.  We had a blast hanging out, fishing, and feeding the ducks.  Enjoy our video!

Abby's Walking!

Way to go Abby!  We are so proud of you!

Wednesday Morning Moms' Group

I love Wednesday mornings.  I have this awesome, wonderful, fun, chaotic, noisy, talkative, intelligent and spiritual group of moms that I meet with every Wednesday morning.  It's for moms and kids and we get together to just talk and let our kids hang out.  Sometimes we head to a park, the zoo, the museum, or someone's house.  Today we went to my friend Mary's house, and we let the kids run like crazy.  They played in the wading pools, ran through the sprinkler and played on the swingset.  All of us moms sat around catching up.  We haven't all been together in a while since everyone was traveling over the summer.  It was so nice to see everyone again!

My Two Favorite Golfers......(and they aren't Tiger and Phil :)





practice swings

looking to the hole

What a way to start the day...

This morning as we were getting ready for our day, Tess comes running over to me and says, "Mommy, Abby has something in her hand."  I don't think to much of it and ask her, "Well, what does she have?"  Tess replies, "A bug Mommy." So I get up and go over to where they are playing all the while thinking, what kind of bug could she possibly have?  an ant, a little roly poly, what?  I'm kind of hesitant to look because I'm not a big fan of bugs.  I pick Abby up and just kind of quickly swipe at her hands trying not to think about what I might be touching.  Finally, she completely opens her hand and I glance down at the floor.  She had picked up and squished a gigantic cricket!  It was so gross.  I still feel all wiggly when I think about it.  I still can't figure out how she caught it, those things are fast!

Little People....

My day is filled with lots of Little People....

And little people playing with lots of "Little People"

little people playing peek a boo....

and smiling for the camera...

can't forget this little person....

she's the cutest little person I know!