My Day Yesterday

This was my view all Sunday night and Monday. That's right even though I got my annual flu shot I still got the flu! Luckily it wasn't the worse case I've ever had but it still sucked just the same and I felt horrible. My littles were amazing and let me lay on the sofa most of the day and Savannah especially was so thoughtful and caring. My favorite thing she said yesterday was, "oh mom! Don't worry about being sick that just means we can do whatever you want all day." Jacob was also a sweet heart and came home and hour early so he was home right after Savannah got off the bus and helped her with her homework and made dinner for everyone. I'm still a little achy today and a little tired but I feel so much better they yesterday and I'm grateful for that.

Slow Down!

Where is time going?! I cannot believe how fast the days are flying by.Since my last post quite a bit has happened so here is the run down.

Savannah started kindergarten!!! I still cannot get over the fact that this girl is big enough to be in school. She goes to all day kindergarten and loves it, it has also been so amazing to see how much she is already learning. She can spell a few words and is just starting read very small words as well. She made it into the 100 club last week and she was beyond proud of herself. (The 100 club is for kids who can count to 100.) This girl was made for school and I hope she continues to love it and to do so well.

Abby is now 14 months which is also crazy to think about, she is starting to look so grown up and she desperately wants to be a big girl like her sisters. She is an expert walker now, she climbs on everything, and has just started talking. She can say hi, daddy, mom, Nanna for Savannah, more, thank you, bye, uh-oh, no, and more. There are probabley more but I can't remember, also she says all these in her cute baby way but for those who are around her we know what she's saying.

Savannah also celebrated her 6th Birthday in September she had been looking forward to it for months and was so exited to celebrate with her new class at school. I asked her some question on her birthday and her answers are below; What's your favorite color?, What's your favorite thing to eat?, What's your favorite thing to do?, What's your favorite movie?, What's your favorite thing about school?, and What's your favorite thing to do with your family? This little girl is amazing!!! She's such a smart girl, a fantastic big sister, so creative, fun, sassy, head strong, and passionate. There are so many things about Savannah that I admire she really is just the best.

We've also been trying to spend more time together sine Jacob is now done with school, the girls were excited when they found a butterfly in their pool.

We also went for little hike, poor Olivia got a blister so Savannah took a turn carrying her.

Abby with her BFF Jacob.

Savannah was convinced she was getting sunburned so she kept putting on more and more sunscreen.

The fair also came the end of September and as usual we had a blast! The girls had so much fun riding all the rides, getting their faces painted, seeing all the exhibits, and Savannah even rode a sheep!

One of my favorite things that happened the end of September was having a visit from my parents! We always love when they come and this visit was no exception. On their first full day with us we went to Bearizona and it was so fun. You drive threw part of the park and see bigger animals that can come right up to your car and then the second half of the park you walk threw. We saw all kinds of animals like bears, wolves, big horn sheep, bison, buffalo, otters, foxes, and some birds during the birds of prey show.

This was a shorter trip so they were only with us for 4 days but we had a blast hanging out, going out to eat, and exploring. I can't wait to see my parents again cause I can never get enough of them.

Also while my mom was here she took some pictures of the girls and I'm of course in love with them.

Lastly to start off our October we watched General Conference which as always was amazing! I love being able to hear from the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am always left wanting to hear more and looking forward to the next session in 6 months. I once again made conference packets for the girls and had huge success, I want to blog about them so I can have a place with all the info I need for next time.

Summer Family Vacation

To warn you now, this post has a ton of pictures in it so be prepared. Around the middle of July we were invited to go on a little hunting trip with some good friends of ours. The boys hunted coyotes and us girls had fun hanging out around the time share. We were there for 4 days and it was fantastic to say the least. All of us had a great time and it was nice to be able to get away and do something fun. The guys would head out early each morning and hunt pretty much the whole day and they were quite successful as well which you'll see at the end of this post. Us girls had fun walking to the pond,

playing on the playground,

exploring,

swimming, swimming, and more swimming,

and just having fun.

We were able to see some horses while we were there and the girls couldn't have been happier,

Jacob also took the girls fishing one night.

This guy had a blast hunting and was beyond excited because he got three coyotes during the trip.

Overall we had a blast and felt so grateful our friends invited us and our energetic kids to come with them.

Let the Fun Begin

I am so excited for this summer mostly because I am actually organized this summer and we are going to have a blast. This summer I decided to have themed days so we're doing at least one fun activity a day Monday thru Friday. We have Movie Monday, Library Tuesday, Service Wednesday, Tasty Treat Thursday, and Fabulously Fun Friday's. I bought movie passes for the summer movie program at our local movie theater that we get to go see every Monday morning. We missed the first two weeks because we were in Maryland but we got to start up this week and the girls loved it, there is just something about seeing a movie in the movie theater that makes it so fun. I also signed the girls up for our libraries summer reading program, this summer the girls need to read for 600 minutes which means I need to read to them for 600 minutes during the summer. So far we're on track and should finish up about a week before the end date. Our library also has fun summer activities every Tuesday that go along with there theme of science that we're planning to attend as well. Every Wednesday I've decided we are doing so act of service whether it be big or small.This past Wednesday we drew pictures for some good friends and took them to their house. I also have plans to have the girls go threw their toys and donate them, I think we're also going to take cookies or some treat to our local fireman and police officers, and we also like taping quarters on vending machines for people to use. I'm not sure how elaborate I'm going to make Tasty Treat Thursday, I think it will depend on my mood, this past Thursday I read them the book If You Give a Cat a Cupcake and then we made cupcakes. I don't think I'll always have a book to go along with what we're going to make but I want to try to. We also have some big plans for our Fabulously Fun Friday's, we have season passes to the Phoenix Science Center, we have tickets to the Prescott Heritage Zoo, and we plan on doing a few day trips as well. In addition to all this fun I'm trying to have the girls outside for at least an hour a day. Its actually really hard to do that here because our backyard sucks!!!!! Its mostly patches of crab grass that hurts to walk on and dirt so our play space is pretty limited unless I want the girls taking mud baths everyday. So far we've played with shaving cream on a tarp which they loved and we did some finger painting and played with sidewalk chalk. We're wanting to get the girls a little pool so they can have some water fun since sprinklers are out of the question. Another draw back to outdoor play is its so hot here already, its been in the mid to upper 90's since we got back from Maryland and by 11 am its usually already in the 90's. I'm also getting the two big girls signed up for swim lessons this summer as well and we have another fun mini vacation planned with some friends later this summer. Did I also mention we want to try and go camping? As I write all this down I think I sound crazy but I don't care, I want to wear my kids out as much as possible while keeping my sanity. Why you ask? Well if you're a mom you probably already guessed why, I want to cut back on fighting between my girls, it also makes my kids much more willing to have quite time everyday because I've worn them out and they sleep even better then they did before because I've made them exhausted. I have no doubt this summer will fly by and before I know it Savannah will be off to all day kindergarten and Olivia will be starting her second year of preschool. I can't wait for all the fun memories we'll all make this summer and for all the fun things we get to do.

(This last picture we took after the Prescott Valley Days Parade, Jacob was a good sport to come with us since he really does hate parades. The girls had a blast as usual.)