Happy 12th Birthday Girls!

Yep, they're 12!  

Hard to believe I know!  It's amazing how fast it goes, only 6 years till they are gone, 2/3 of their time with me is over.  They had a great birthday on Veterans Day with all their friends, they made homemade pizza, handmade some Christmas cards, did a White Elephant type gift exchange and ate lots of yummy cupcakes (decorated by Grammy) and ice cream!  It was so fun. 

They are super excited to be able to go to Young Women's at church now.  They went to their first activity on Sunday night and tomorrow is their first combined activity with the boys.  Sooooooo EXCITING!    It's a whole new world people!!!

Zoe and Zander--Welcome to the Family

 

So we got  ourselves 2 new puppies in September.  We first met them in August on our travels to Utah but they were just a week old then and we had to wait to get them till they were 8 weeks old.  I only wanted one but the girls decided to pool their money and buy another one.  So we have 2 new babies who are perfect in every way except for the potty training part!  I figure with a life span of about 15-16 years, these will be the last puppies I ever train, yippee! 

Tiny Zander

Tiny Zoe

Lewis is really loving them.  He lays by them, goes in and out the dog door with them, hand feeds them food from their bowls, cleans up their poop off the carpet (he does a really good job too!) and pets them constantly.  He calls them the "blue one and the pink one" because of their collars.  He even remembers them in his prayers.  He is in heaven. 

Lew with the blue one

The girls are really happy to have a puppy they can call their own.  They got Zander.  Brad and I are happy too because we can make them clean up, wipe up, scoop up and wash up any accidents because it's "their dog!"

Griffin is so loving to them.  He gets them to play and run around and has a super fun time with them.  

Dinner Time

Sleepin with Daddy

Zander trying to sneak to school in Grif's backpack

Zander

Zoe

We are so happy to have them because it will make putting Daisy down that much less painful because we have them to cheer us up.

1st week of Nov. Forecast...SWEET!

Can't beat this time of year, although true perfection would be no 90's!

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween week with lots of class party's, church trunk or treat's and scoring lots of candy. (Just in time for my diet to end!)  We even went to the State Fair with Grammy, Leksi, Amie and Brax.  It was one busy week and we loved it!!!

This year we had a Mario, a Luigi, a Witch and a Wal*Mart Greeter.  So fun!!  Lewis wore his costume everywhere we went, except the fair, the whole week.  He only answered to Luigi and he loved his outfit!! Mario had a birthday party and a class party that he loved and he has eaten his body weight in candy since Friday night.

Halloween has been a hit!  Now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Let the fun begin.

 

This is our Daisy pumpkin.  It's gonna be her last halloween with us so we had to pay tribute to her.  She's had a good run but her health is really declining and it's time to make the tough decisions!  UGH.

Auntie Paula and Pirate Island

This past summer Auntie Paula took the kids and I to a super fun place....Pirate Island.  We ate yummy, delicious food and got lots of tokens to play games with, win tickets and claim prizes!  It was our last day with Auntie Paula and she made sure we went out with a bang!!!  THANK YOU Auntie Paula.

Auntie Paula and kids.  She ROCKS!

quote at front of store

winning tickets, Grif shows Mary what to aim for.

Our "money maker" for tickets.  Slam a winner rocked!

Pumpkin Crafty-ness

So my friend Jo got this super cute pumpkin from one of her friends and I thought I could copy it and give it to some of my friends.  So she sent me a pic and I showed it to Brad and he decided to 1 up it.  He did.  It is great!  I made some for my mom and she liked it so well she put in an order for a few more that she'd pay us to make.  She wasn't very specific so we made her 20!  (We really needed the money!)

It was fast and easy and I think it's so cute.  I gave them to lots of people but I am thinking the shape can be made into a Christmas ornament or Santas face and Brad can probably make some egg shaped for Easter so be looking out for those!  It was a fun, inexpensive but cute way to decorate for Halloween.

Fall School Pictures

Here are my 3 lovelies.  Aren't They co cute?!

my baby is 4

It is so weird to think that we have lived in Phoenix for 4 years already!  I keep good track of this because Lew was born 3 months after we got here.  He is an Arizona Desert Rat as my friend calls himself and all those born in Phoenix. 

Since Lew doesn't really get birthdays yet we didn't have a party.  My parents were down here for a meeting so they took Lew and I to lunch at BJ's.  Sooo delish!  Lewis was in Heaven with Grammy and Pap as his lunch dates.  He really enjoyed the men's bathroom with my dad because it had the urinals that go all the way to the floor and then "the waterfall" came down to flush the pee all gone. He had to do the bathroom twice while we were there just for the pure fun of it!

say cheese

makin a wish



i love Percy

We did take cupcakes to preschool so Lewis considered that his birthday party. Grammy and Pap got him a McDonald's gift card (which we plan on using today!) and he used Grandma and Grandpa's money they sent to buy himself a Percy the #6 engine train. Daddy and Mommy and Griffin got him a huge train set, because 6 buckets of train tracks is clearly not enough, and the girls got him some Toy Story 3 action figures.

He is one happy boy!

1st day of school

Here are the kiddos on their 1st day of school this year!

3 happy back to school kids!

Helen has the huge bandage because the Sat before school started she got a huge road rash riding sitting down on a skate board at my bro's house.  Her shoulder was all scraped up and her elbow/arm took the brunt of it.  The giant ace bandage keeps on the giant bandage that never wants to stay on an elbow!

Grif and Mrs. Bulger

  

Lewis is doing preschool 2 days a week and loving it!

Yeah!  My 1st day of Preschool!!

Lew and Mrs. Sterr

Lewis' birdhouse art project

the master at work

 Lew found himself an art project one day.  Mary has had this little gem in her room in a box for 2 years.  Lewis decided it was time for it to come out and be painted.  He got it out all by himself and started painting away.  I was able to talk him into letting me open the paint, set him up with a plate and give him a little water to wash the paint brush with but other than that, he did it all by himself.  I like it!

Nephew Missionary in the General Conference Choir

My nephew, Elder Joseph Cruz, is 3:23 into Priesthood Session of General Conference. Joseph was in the MTC choir which got to sing for the evening priesthood session. He's the handsome Elder in blue tie next to Elder with yellow tie when song says "truth", so listen for..."all may rejoice the long night is o'er, truth"...and bam...there he is!!! Yeah for my missionary nephew!!!!   I might be tearing up just a little as I type, I won't lie, it was a thrill to see him and then to listen to the words to the song to Hark, All Ye Nations. . .   "Chosen by God to serve him below to every land we'll go!"  (Yep, I'm fully crying now!)

Click on the link below to see him.

http://new.lds.org/general-conference/watch?lang=eng&vid=621787340001

He is in the next song, Go, Ye Messengers of Heaven too, beginning of 2nd verse 8:29, 9:15 and 9:34 in I believe. 

and last song Called to Serve 1:52:14 in case you were wondering.

Summer 2010 Swimming Lessons

The boys took swimming lessons this summer for 3 sessions which equals 6 weeks.  They did fantastic!  Lewis was the smallest in his class because he is so advanced in his swimming.  I took him to swimming classes all last year so he could learn the lifesaving techniques--the ones where they teach the kids to roll over and float on their backs then flip and swim then roll over until they get to the side of the pool, so if they ever fell into a pool they wouldn't drown.  

So lets just say Lew is a very advanced 3 year old swimmer.  They only reason they didn't bump him up to Griffin's class (learning the strokes) is because he was so little!   So in class you are supposed to hold on to the side of the pool until it's your turn for whatever they are doing next.  Lew just couldn't do it!  He had to let go and swim to the bottom and pop back up which made for some very nervous lifeguards.  By the end of the first session they had his number and it was just a matter of time before he was sitting out next to one of them until it was his turn.  He really never learned his lesson (stubborn little thing) and had to sit out often but not daily by the end of the 3rd session. 

both boys with their teachers

lew has the floating down pat, dave isn't even touching him

lew demonstrating he knows how to hold on to the wall

sit and kick with lifeguard teacher david

sitting out

Griffin spent this summer learning the strokes.  The plan is for him to do swim team with the girls next year.  He did pretty well.  He gives it all he's got, it's not pretty but it gets the job done.  It is quite comical to watch his teachers swim after him as he heads into another class.

grif with his teacher kicking for all he is worth!

Grif beginning freestyle on one end

Griffin in middle of pool going full length

The Return trip