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!!

Sweet Seven Year Old

Happy Birthday Sweet Regan!

15 little chefs (not incl. siblings)

Beautiful new nails!! They felt so pampered!

My beautiful  7 year old! I love my Regan!!

Crazy cousins at Red Lobster...too much fun!

October brings a special occasion in our house...Regan's birthday! She turned 7 years old this year! Feels like just yesterday I was posting about her turning 6. This past year has just flown by! Regan is still the sweetest girl in the whole world who never complains, rarely whines, and is happy with anything and everything. She is absolutely beautiful and is really progressing in soccer. She is so smart. Regan loves school, especially reading , cooking, and art.
For her 7th birthday, Regan wanted a "cooking" party. She wants to be a cook when she grows up and so does her friend Helen. With their birthdays only 2 days apart, we had another double birthday party. So fun! Lots and lots of girls too :) The party started with decorating aprons to wear when the girls prepared their own dinner (hawaiian haystacks). They enjoyed measuring, cutting, and stirring...such cute little chefs! After the dinner prep, they ate what they had prepared. We then opened presents, created recipe books, and ended by decorating their own cupcakes. It was such a fun party!!
On her actual birth DAY, I surprised the girls by taking them to the nail salon to get their nails painted. It was fun to see what colors/designs they picked (not at all what I expected). It didn't last very long (maybe one day) so I'm not sure if I'll do that again, but it was fun nonetheless. That evening, Regan got to pick what restaurant she wanted to eat at. Of course she chose Red Lobster! Seafood is her favorite! We are so lucky to have Aunt Sheila and Uncle Mike and kids living here in Colorado now, so they came too! It made the night even more enjoyable and I know Regan LOVED having her crazy cousins there :)
Sure love my Reg-a-begs!! To my sweet seven year old...Happy Birthday!! I love you!!!

All Things Soccer

Soccer Sisters

The Crazy 8's

My 3 Soccer Girls

   As most of you know, we have a house full of soccer addicts.It consumes most of our days during the regular seasons (which is both fall AND spring) plus they even want to play in the winter indoor league AND summer 3v3 tournaments...they are addicted!! To top it all off, Carli and Regan were invited to play on the Academy teams this season which adds 3 more practices a week to our schedule. We have atleast one soccer practice every day of the week with games on Saturday. Long story short- we have ALL THINGS SOCCER!!
   Yesterday was our first day of games!! The girls were so nervous and excited! It was so fun to watch them play again (even though they all had games at the exact same time!!) I love watching them play their hearts out, try so hard, be so tough, get up when they fall down, make moves on other players, celebrate their victories, be so proud of themselves, give each other hugs and support...it is something that I never thought I would feel. It is so great to loose your voice screaming for your kids!! Yes, we are crazy. Yes, we are overly dedicated. Yes, I am now an official 'soccer mom'. BUT Yes, it is awesome!!

Last 1st Day of Kindergarten

My big Kindergartner!!

Mollie and her friend Mason

I'm not sure if that title makes sense to you, but it does to me. My baby started school, so this is the last time I will experience the 1st day of Kindergarten (disclaimer: unless we are able to have another one!) Mollie was TOTALLY ready and was super excited! She felt like the biggest girl in the whole wide world!! When we got to the school, she couldn't wait for the bell to ring so she could "just start already!" She gave me a hug and kiss and told me I could go home, but of course I didn't!! I waited to get a picture of her in line and walking into her classroom. I was excited for her and yet I couldn't help but be so sad...I'm such a cry baby!! I had to walk away from all of my friends because I just couldn't hold it together. Luckily, a group of us went out to breakfast so I didn't have to go home to an empty house. When I picked her up, Mollie was so excited to tell me all about her day (they even had a fire drill!). She gave me the biggest hug and I knew right then that Mollie was going to LOVE school, just like her big sisters! I love my girls so, so much!! Happy 1st day of Kindergarten my Mollie!