There's no place like home...

I know this is probably the last year my kids will let me dress them up in coordinating themed outfits. But, I LOVE IT!!! Last year they were Cinderella and Gus-Gus.

This year (I’m not sure how) but I talked Allie out of being a princess again, and being Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I guess the sparkly dress and amazing red shoes helped J She even had to find a small basket with a little dog in it to be Toto. She carried Toto around all night long (along with her candy pumpkin). She was simply adorable. She's growing up too fast for me. She would walk from booth to booth doing each one by herself. (Well, thanks Papa & Grammy for a little help on some of them!) She went right up to the cake walk and knew exactly what to do. And knew she wanted one of their cupcake prizes.

Drew made my heart melt everytime I looked at him. He was the perfect scarecrow. I’m not sure why, but it completely fit his personality. He wasn’t too sure about the costume at first, but as soon as I gave him a piece of candy, he completely forgot about it. He ended up LOVING Halloween. He had a blast roaming around in the church parking lot at our ward Fall Festival. They rented a couple bounce houses, and he was right in there with all the big kids – holding his own.

After our ward party, we loaded the kids in the wagon and went trick-or-treating to a few houses in our neighborhood with Sarah & Gavin and their cute little princess Felicity. All three kids piled into the wagon and off we went. It was so handy – we’d drive them right up and they’d get their candy. One neighbor called it “Drive-thru trick-or-treating!”.


Drew wasn’t so sure about it at the first house. He didn’t want to hold out his pumpkin, but was curious what this person had just dropped into his bucket. As soon as he figured out it was candy, he said “tant too” and was excited to go get more! He loves candy way more than Allie ever did – or still does for that matter.

When Allie gets to go pick out a treat with her dad, they usually come back with movie theater popcorn. Dan insists Allie chooses it, but I’m sure he had a hand in it somewhere along the way… Just like the lemons, limes, pickles, olives… Happy Halloween!



I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... Drew, Allie, and Felicity (their cousin)

Our cute little Dorothy and adorable scarecrow.

Trick or Treating in the wagon...

Drive-thru service here.

Drew, Gavin (bro-in-law), Felicity and Dan at our ward party.

Allie with Toto...

Our cute little scarecrow.

Allie pumpkin bowling at one of the booths.

Playtime at the Gym

Finding indoor activities to escape the mid-summer heat can be challenging at times. Luckily, there is a super cool indoor gymnastics center a few blocks from our house. We went there with my sister Tricia and friend Jackie and their kids. Everyone had a great time- the kids got free reign to around and check out the various pieces of equipment.


One of the highlights is an enormous foam pit you can jump or swing into from a rope. They had a fun parachute activity that all the kids loved, especially Drew. He thought he was so big holding on to the edge of it like all the other big kids. They'd take turns running under it - Drew didn't ever want to come back out! Allie was listening intently to when it was her turn to go under, or what to do next.


The foam pit was so fun, but a workout to move around in it - or to get out of it! Drew let me throw him down into it, and he'd try his hardest to get his legs on to to crawl out, but it was like quicksand, the harder you worked to get on top, the more you sunk down into it. After minutes of squirming he finally gave up and just layed there...


And little Allie is so creative. She thought it'd be fun to create a castle with the giant foam blocks from the pit. She and Lyndsey were pretending to be princesses! I barely saw Allie the entire time we were there. She was so busy doing her own thing and playing with other kids - she's becoming so independent.



Lyndsey, Allie, Tricia, & Cannon at the parachute.

It's hopeless... He gave up trying to get out ;-)

Allie having fun in the foam pit.

Drew - trying to figure out what to do next...

The "Castle" and the princesses inside :-)

He loved to hang from these parallel bars. He'd hang on as long as he could, until his little fingers would slip off, and then climb back up again. It made him look so long and skinny!

So, we were leaving for California the next day, so most of Drew's shorts were packed. I put these ones on him (they use to fit a couple months ago, but he's lost his baby belly - so they are a little big on him). His shorts kept falling off him whenever he'd bend over, or climb up something, or just about anything. At one point, I saw him frustrated with them and trying to take them off...

This sets up the following video...

Fire Station Fieldtrip

Our 1st field trip with Allie's preschool class was to the fire station in south Gilbert. One of her classmates dad works there so we got to take the full tour and check everything out. The firemen put on their full suits and let the kids come touch the gear and check it out so they wouldn't be afraid. Allie was a little unsure of the fireman once he was all suited up. She went up and touched him for about a 1/2 a second and then just stood back and observed instead.

The kids learned a couple songs to sing to the firemen - it was pretty cute. We then checked out their kitchen and their sleeping quarters. They did a mock emergency and turned on the alarms and lights. Allie said that was her favorite part :-)

Drew and I got to tag along, and Drew's favorite part was the fire truck itself - he was fascinated by it. The kids were able to climb into the front of the truck, and Drew was ready to bunk in and stay there forever... It was pretty cool to see all this stuff, and the kids were so knowledgeable about fires and fire safety it was pretty cute.

4 year old Birthday Bash

It was a week long birthday for Allie, and she loved every minute of it. We celebrated on her actual birthday on Thursday, and then she had a friends party on Saturday at Peter Piper Pizza. She had friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents all there. Her favorite part was playing the enormous"Deal or No Deal" game. I know its luck... but she's crazy good at it! It was so fun to see everyone and to play games and eat pizza & cake. Thanks to everyone who came and made Allie's birthday so special.

Allie wanted a Cinderella party, but we figured this cake would be the next best thing. She was SO excited when we opened it up. It was perfect! You'll notice in the picture that Drew got his paws in on the action a little early...

Allie needed a little help blowing out her candles - but thanks to Breckon, Carly and a lot of Allie's spit those candles were finally extinguished :-)

Of Bikes and Bugs

Allie got to open one present on her actual birthday because she had to wait for her party on Saturday to open the rest of them. She had been asking for a bike for a few months so was elated when she saw her new pink princess bike and helmet. She was pretty excited (at first) but she's still in the learning phase, and gets frustrated when she has trouble riding it. Dan actually ended up exchanging the original bike for a slighter smaller one and that helped her keep those pedals moving!

Drew also got a really small bike that Dan had to assemble, and of course Allie preferred to ride his bike instead of hers...


Drew LOVES to be outside and exploring anything and everything he can see. He is really into checking out bugs right now. He'll get down on his hands and knees and try to grab the bug and check it out (and usually smush it with his big paws). It's so funny to see the difference between girls and boys. Allie gets grossed out and a little nervous around bugs (even little ants), and tries to squish them with a shoe or will run from them. Drew high tails it directly for the bug and tries to get as close as he can to it, and pick it up.

Fun at the Gilbert Splash pad

Our sweet princess turned 4 years old this year. It's amazing how fast they grow up. Allie's birthday was on a Thursday, so she got to take cupcakes that she helped me decorate to preschool. Since it was her birthday, she got to wear a beautiful crown at preschool and be queen for the day. She was the leader for the day and took home the special birthday bag. If you know Allie, this is EXACTLY how she'd go through life if we'd let her - the queen and leader of everyone... She definitely was born with a strong determination and a natural leader drive. A few weeks ago she looked at me and simply said, "I'm glad Heavenly Father sent me to earth first so I can be the leader." I don't know where this kid gets this stuff!

After preschool we met up with some cousins for lunch at Paradise Bakery. Then we visited the pet store and played in the water at the Gilbert Mall splash pad. Allie loves to make new friends EVERYWHERE she goes. She had a blast playing in the water with her cousin Lyndsey, and playing with the other kids there.

Drew's favorite part about the day was cupcakes, mac n cheese, dogs and water. He enjoyed stepping on the water coming out of the ground. But when it started to get too big and splash his face, he'd back off and go find another small one.

Allie & Lyndsey (cousin) at the splash pad.

Our Big Preschooler

Our little peanut started preschool this year! Dan and I can't believe she's old enough to go because she certainly doesn't look big enough! But she is really growing up on us lately... her vocabulary and comprehension is off the charts. She is unbelievably aware of EVERYTHING around her and always has one ear open. Dan thinks he can outsmart her and spells words so she won't know exactly what we're talking about, but she's sounding them out now and cracking the code. And with that creepy Dora cartoon brainwashing her, spanish is out of the question... what's a parent to do???

Allie was SO excited all summer long to finally start preschool with Mrs. Kerri. All her friends started in August, and Allie's school didn't start until the 2nd week in September so the first day of school couldn't come fast enough. She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and loves every minute of it. Mrs. Kerri is the nicest teacher and makes preschool so much fun for the kids.

We had a meet and greet a week before school started, and she was in awe at all the cool stuff there, and all the things she would be be able to do. She got to make a cute little apron for her to use during the year for art & cooking projects. They got to pick a few iron on stickers to put on their apron, and of course, Allie picked 3 princess stickers to put on hers.

Allie and mom went to her preschool meet and greet before the 1st day of school @ Mrs. Kerri's.

I only had time to take a few quick pictures of Allie on her 1st day of preschool. We didn't want to be late for the 1st day... Allie couldn't wait to wear her new backpack that she got to pick out. She LOVED this one because it was pink and had ALL the princesses on it. Too bad it's almost as big as she is...

She didn't want me to take pictures or any video of her - she just wanted to get going and go to school. Luckily, she humored me for a couple of quick shots.

This is my only shot of Allie and Mrs. Kerri on the 1st day of school. Allie is so tough to get a good picture of. She DOES NOT like to look at the camera, and never has. We have SO many pictures of her looking off the the side, or at the ground, or away from the camera. I got her to look her head in the right direction, but I took it as she was blinking... Oh well, she loved her first day and was so excited to meet all the kids in her class. We love you Al, and are so proud of the wonderful and sweet little girl you are!