Hodge Podge

This update is long overdue. I haven't really felt like blogging recently. But here is a compilation of what we've been doing for the last month or so.

1. After the first week of school Miss L got sick. First we thought it was the flu; then we thought it was strep; it ended up being MONO! She was miserable. I was miserable. It was a terrible way to start off the school year. She spent most of her days sleeping and watching movies--and insisted on doing her homework every day.

2. My sister recently moved to NYC and took my niece's American Girl Doll, Lanie, in for a new hairstyle. Once Miss A saw it, she begged for the same thing. (She is obsessed with American Girl, Kit Kittredge).

3. We found a huge blow-up turtle on clearance and have been playing on it every spare moment.

4. It has finally cooled off enough that we can play at the park down the street. It's still in the 90's, but that feels like heaven compared to the 115+ degrees of last month!

5. This week is Spirit Week at school. On Monday the girls dressed like pirates for "Talk Like a Pirate Day."

And today is crazy sock day.

6. Last, but not least, we finally decided where we will be going next year. G is almost finished with his 10 years of medical training and has been offered a job in Visalia (my home town). He signed the contract last Monday, making it finally OFFICIAL! We will be moving back to CA next June. I am so excited to live close to my parents, G's parents, and my brother's family. It is going to be AWESOME!!!!

Happy Birthday Miss A!

Miss A turned 6 yesterday! I cannot believe it! She is growing up so fast!

Since her birthday fell on a Sunday this year, we decided to have the celebration the previous Friday. It started with cupcakes at school, then early release from school. Then she opened presents, played like crazy, and then went to a Diamond Back game with Daddy and Miss R.

She LOVES baseball!

A "real" purse and wallet. :) And for some reason we didn't get a picture of her favorite gift--a small Rapunzel tower (yes Grandpa--she finally has it).

On Sunday we had some close friends over for dinner, cake, and ice cream. Miss A couldn't decide about what kind of cake she wanted, so I surprised her. It was a little more difficult than I expected--I'm just not a cake lady. I was worried because it was a little lopsided, but when Miss A saw it she started jumping up and down and yelling, "Thanks Mom! Thanks Mom!" That made it all worth it! :D

Happy Birthday Miss A! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

P.S. Unfortunately the day ended with some overtired, sugar high girls which led to some sibling rivalry. I found this picture this morning---and laughed like crazy. I just had to include it!

A New Pet

We found this rattle snake on our porch last night! Luckily my wonderful husband was brave enough to smash it with a giant rock. I had nightmares all night! Get me out of Phoenix!!!

OH, and a special thanks to my father-in-law who provided us with the long reach, grabbing thing-a-ma-bob. It is the most useful tool EVER!!!!

SCHOOL

Miss L and Miss A started school 3 days ago. They were excited and nervous, but I think I was more nervous than they were. I did cry a little bit, but only after I said good-bye and the girls couldn't see me (I didn't want to scare them). I can hardly believe that I am doing this. Most mom's send off one child at a time...for 3 hrs of kindergarten. But I sent off 2 kids for 7 hrs, and it is so....weird. It has been hard to relinquish control of my children's education. I feel so lost in the public school world---I'm sure I'll figure it all out eventually.

My house is very quiet. I LOVE IT! Miss R and Miss C are loving the attention. In fact, Miss R has not asked for her older sisters once! Haha! I admit that I do miss my girls, but I know they are having fun and learning lots of things (not just academics).

Our afternoons have been nuts. Our extra-curricular activities don't start until next week (Ballet & Art) and I already don't know how kids have enough hours in the day. Luckily the girls won't have too much homework (I'm guessing it's b/c they spend 7 hrs at school---that's a long day for a 5 and 7 year old).

Here is a picture of my beautiful school girls:

Love, love, love these girls. I miss them when they are gone, but I know they are in good hands.

Photo Shoot

A few weeks before we left CA, a friend of mine who is a professional photographer offered to take a family photo for us. It ended up turning into a little more than that---she took TONS of photos and they ALL turned out adorable. I am so excited about these. They are helping my AZ house feel more like home. Thanks friend (you know who you are)! :D

*The resolution of these is not that great---I had a hard time getting blogger to accept my gorgeous full-resolution pics. These are some of my favorites. She also took the family shot that is above (as our new header).

A New Home

G & I flew to AZ last weekend to find a new rental home. It turned out to be one of the best getaways we've ever had! It was so relaxing and fun! I think the biggest surprise for me was how much greenery there is in Arizona. And also the heat feels completely different than what I'm used to in CA--it is super dry. Seriously....it was 100 degrees and it didn't bother me at all. We stayed at a NICE hotel in Scottsdale and did LOTS of driving all over the valley. We visited with family, an old friend, and Glade's new workplace. We had a total blast!

Within 2 hours of house hunting, I found the one I wanted. It is a little farther than we hoped for (20 minute commute) but it was so much cheaper than everything else. Scottsdale real estate is a little insane (so we opted for North Phoenix to save some $).

Here is the rundown for all who may be interested. It is less than 10 years old. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and a loft. It is two story (something we wanted to try since we've never lived in a 2 story house). It has a large backyard with desert landscape (rocks, dirt, a tree, and a few bushes) along with a fenced pool. It is 2240 square feet. It is at the end of a cul-de-saq, where there is a path that leads to a park which is one street over. Seriously, it's perfect. The only thing it is lacking is grass, and I can deal with that. I am beside myself with excitement! OH, and my favorite part of the house is something nobody will ever see---my HUGE walk-in closet. :D

My family has been bugging me for pictures. Unfortunately we didn't take very many of the house. Here are a few:

Street view

Formal living/dining area (kind of makes me laugh since we don't have any formal furniture)

Family room

Master bath (and entry to my lovely closet)

Master bedroom (LOVE the french door entry)

Upstairs hallway

Bedroom (this is the smallest one, but they pretty much all look the same)

The park around the corner from us.

Look how green it is:

We are so excited for our new home. We'll miss our CA friends & family, but we're looking forward to a new adventure. :D

A few things we've been doing...

Experimenting with hairstyles...

Playing outdoors....

Lots of reading...

Dressing up (in odd sorts of ways)...

And practicing our writing skills....

I LOVE MY GIRLS!!!!!! :D