Dress Up!

With the long, hot summer upon us, what's a kid to do but dress up as their favorite character and play make believe!  I think the costume choices speak for themselves...  Being pent up indoors takes it's toll. Tomorrow morning we're headed to California for a week of cool weather and beach time!!  The kids can hardly wait...

Good Puppy!

Mia has not lost her fascination with puppies!  Oddly, over the summer it's morphed from wanting a puppy into wanting us to treat her like a puppy...  She has decided that she is a boy puppy named Rancis!  She has taught us that one bark means no, and two barks means yes.  She even went to so far as to acquire a dog collar and asks to be taken for walks around the house.  Yes, I know, very strange!  Here she is in her 'dog bed' with her puppy brother and her chew toy.  The strange creativity of children!!

Flagstaff Vaca!

The extreme heat started awfully early this summer in AZ... So we decided to break away for the July 4th holiday and rented a home up in the mountains of Flagstaff for a week.  The kids were absolutely thrilled to be able to play outside and enjoy the fresh mountain air.  We shared a home with the Wichansky clan, and had an absolute blast as always!  The kids are at such an enjoyable age, life has gone from a real challenge to an absolute blast.  We couldn't be happier!

Swim Fest!

The nice mountain weather allowed the kids to swim until their hearts were content  The club pool had a waterslide, and the twins were courageous enough to go down on their own for the first time ever! Of course that was followed by 700 more trips down the slide...  They were hooked!  Marc & Lex's kids, Elie & Devyn, were fantastic helping out with the twins in the pool.  Brandon has become a very good and safe swimmer. Aubrey is a good swimmer, but absolutely does not understand her limitations and is extremely dangerous...  She dives into the deep end and smiles at us as she sinks to the bottom!  So surprising from the crazy girl.

Happy 4th of July!!

 

The weather was absolutely amazing up in the mountains of Flagstaff, and we were able to spend a long 4th of July afternoon swimming and playing outside!  We bought tickets to the local fireworks show that evening and enjoyed a great BBQ while the kids played on the golf course.  A very relaxing family getaway!

Training!

Anytime we get near a gym or park, Mia asks for Daddy to 'train' her!  She gets very serious about her physical fitness and we spend loads of time putting her through the paces...  While in Flag, we found a great park in the community we rented in, and she went nuts on the rock climbing wall and jungle gym.  She's one fit little girl.  And sadly, she's not so little anymore... 

Baby Obsessed!!

Aubrey has had a bit of a baby fixation ever since our close friends, Marc & Lex, had a beautiful new baby, Skye.  She's always giving Skye kisses, and absolutely lights up when she enters the room...  It's so cute to see how early the maternal instinct kicks in!

Computer Geek!

Big Boy has really gotten into the various computer Apps, and loves to mimic his older sister by pretending to be navigating the Web.  In reality, he spends most of his time searching Netflix to try and find movie versions of his favorite books.  He's a handsome little man!

RV Trip 2013

Last year we took the kids on an RV trip to visit Grandma & Grandpa in New Mexico.  They haven't stopped talking about it a year later...  There's something about a mobile, self contained snack / sleeping unit that the kids absolutely love!! So this year we rented an even bigger RV and hit the road. After camping for a night in New Mexico we headed up to Grandma & Grandpa's home in Colorado. The kids had never been to such a remote area of the country and loved being high up on a mountain. Daily walks with the puppies, playing in the woods, and lots of relaxation.  After a few days we headed up to Daddy's office in the Springs.  Then up to Fort Collins for a visit with Mia's best friend Taylor!  A quick stop to see Mia's Godfather Steve in Denver, and it was off to Vail, followed by a long drive home through Moab, Utah.  It was a long week, but an absolute blast to all be together camping, playing & loving!