One "Wild" Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we did something we haven't done in forever...we went to AZ! It was fun to be with cousins (and my sisters!) The weather was beautiful so we spent most of our time outside. We went swimming/hot tub, played in the yard, and went to the Phx Zoo. It was perfect! ALL the animals were out and we had such a great time!! Never in a million years did I think I would be swimming during Thanksgiving...totally WILD! :)

One Final Recital

I made a big decision: I am no longer going to teach piano/voice. Not forever, but I'm going to take a little break for a while. I've enjoyed it so much! Part of me is super sad, but I know its for the best right now. I had my final recital and all but 2 of my students performed. They did amazing!! I am so proud of them all! I will miss teaching and maybe someday I'll be able to teach again (and maybe I can actually teach my OWN children!)

A Cold Memory

Before we left California we HAD to take the girls to the beach! Problem: it was cold and rainy! :( Not the kind of memory most people have. It was super cold and we only stayed about 30 minutes. I loved their initial reaction to seeing the ocean...they kept saying "it is so big!" Glad we made time to give them that very cold memory!

California Adventure

Mollie soaking wet after Grizzly River Rapids

Riding the ferris wheel (it was like a ride because the girls wanted the "moving" basket! It was so high that I was kinda freaking out!! Scary!

Carli LOVED this roller coaster!! The other girls weren't tall enough to ride it, but Carli couldn't get enough of it. She is a roller coaster junkie!!

Regan thought she was SOSOSO cool...she got to drive her own bumper car! :)

An exhausted Mollie! She was amazing after two very long, tiring days!!

The second day of our CA trip we spent at California Adventure. It was another great day! Hardly any people, which meant no lines again! We didn't see any characters (just Mickey) but went on so many rides! We actually did the entire park and were back at Disneyland by 3:00 in the afternoon. I wish I had a picture of the girls on the Tower of Terror...hilarious! It was a trip they won't ever forget!!

Happiest Place on Earth

The girls literally ran to Sleeping Beauty castle!

Regan's favorite...Rapunzel and Flynn Rider's "smolder" :)

MY favorite part...the CHURROS! Carli is my partner; we ate 3 churros each that first day!

Watching the parade...Mollie's favorite!

I love the look of pure terror on their faces!! (sidenote: the guy in the back was awesome! He came to Disneyland by himself and just laughed at our girls the whole ride!)

Look at those smiles!! We surprised the girls the morning after Halloween and took them to Disneyland!! (It was a great way to keep our minds off of Layla too!) We told them at breakfast (I already had the bags packed), loaded in the truck, and headed to California :) It was so much fun! It was the best time to go; there were no lines and we went on so many rides I thought I was going to be sick!! We counted on the shuttle back to the hotel and we went on 27 rides that day!
Regan loved the princesses (especially Rapunzel), Carli (who is too "cool" for princesses) loved the rides, and Mollie loved the parade (everyone was watching her dance). We did everything we wanted to and more!! They were perfect ages and could go on every ride. They were in a great mood the whole day too. I now understand why they call Disneyland the Happiest Place on Earth!! Can't wait to go again!

Unforgettable

Mollie saying goodbye

Regan saying goodbye

Carli saying goodbye

Our Layla

We had a sad day recently...our 12 year old lab Layla had to be put down. We've had her for almost 13 years and its been fun to look back on life with her. As a puppy she was out of control! I can honestly say that she chewed EVERYTHING in sight!! She filled my void of having kids for a few years until the girls arrived. Despite her craziness, Layla was excellent with kids. As she got older she slowed WAY down and didn't do much except eat and sleep :) She was such a good dog! Unfortunately her old body just couldn't keep up. She had a stroke a few months ago and eventually she started to get worse and worse. It finally got to the point where if we didn't want her to suffer we didn't have much of a choice. It was so hard, we couldn't even think of taking her in....so we had Chad's sister come pick her up and take her to the vet. When we told the girls it didn't take long for them to understand that they had to say a "real" goodbye. There were a lot of tears that morning, but we know we made the right decision. We sure miss our Layla!! She will always be in our hearts. She is truly unforgettable!

Halloween Fun

Those who know me, know that I love for my girls to match and for their Halloween costumes to "go" together too. This year I tried all sorts of ideas on them, but they didn't want any of them! In the end they decided on the 3 orphan girls from the movie DESPICABLE ME. I wasn't sure if anybody would know who they were so I was a little nervous. But I was pleasantly surprised...a lot of people recognized them! We enjoyed getting LOTS of candy and having friends over for soup and rolls. Always seems like a lot of work for one night, but it sure was fun!!