Halloween

We had a great Halloween weekend. I had a blast helping out with Blakeslie's class party and then watching the school parade. Blakeslie LOVED the parade and showing off her costume. We had our first ever trunk-o-treat that night. It was a great time, but between the two nights the girls got waaaay too much candy. Funny thing is Chip and I have eaten 10 times more of it than they have. They had a few pieces on Halloween, but never asked about it again even though it is sitting on our counter. Saturday we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving point. It was such a beautiful day and the girls had a great time. Trick-o-Treating was fun with Blakeslie's friends and our neighbors.

Cinderella and Shirley Temple

Help!!!

I had to put on the video of the Tap Dancing Shirley, but we couldn't figure out how to rotate it. Does anyone out there know how - please let me know! Sorry about the crink in the neck.

Blakeslie was so hilarious in her tap shoes. She would break out into a tap show any chance she got. The best part was it looked more like The River Dance than tap, but we loved it! I also got a kick out of her hair. We put it in sponge rollers and it looked so stinkin' cute.

Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point

Quarantine

We survived our week of quarantine from the Swine flu. The first couple of days we all felt terrible and did a lot of sitting around or watching movies.

By the end we were all feeling a lot better so we had fun carving pumpkins, making our Spooky Halloween House, and baking cookies (none of which left the contaminated house.)

When we finally could leave the house we had a great time trying to catch up on all the Halloween fun. We went to Gardner village to see the witches and to Barnyard Boo. It felt great to be out in the fresh air!

Newport Oregon AKA Crab Island

We had so much fun on our trip to Newport OR. It is such a unique and interesting place. Everyday was full of adventures and lots of laughs. We had raved so much about our trip 2 years ago that we convinced Troy and Eno and my parents to join us for a couple of days. It was fun having them with us and to teach them how to crab fish.

Crabbing was definitely a highlight. The girls loved it and it is really exciting. I had the best job of just watching and taking pictures. Chip did all the heavy lifting, throwing, baiting and cleaning. The girls were the official Crab Kickers. They had to kick all the crab that were too small to keep back off the dock. It was so fun to watch especially if one of the crabs got a hold of their shoes or pant legs. They shock me at how they are not afraid of anything. They loved exploring all the catch especially the starfish and sun star. Yes, that is a starfish on Mayzie’s head – she thought she was pretty funny!

One day we drove up the coast to Tillamook to explore the Cheese Factory. It is so fun to watch how things are mass produced. The highlight of the factory was enjoying the 38 flavor ice cream tour. It was so huge and fun to try all the different flavors. Our favorites were Birthday Cake, Chocolate & Peanut Butter, Pralines & Cream and Oregon Black Cherry. The unanimous unfavorites were White Licorice and Bubblegum - YUCK! Mayzie was hilarious - she wouldn’t let the bowl slide away from her. She definitely out ate the rest of us. It was a very fun and memorable tummy ache for everyone.

We had other adventures to lighthouses, the beach and a kite festival.

On our last day we found the cutest little tea shop. They had hats, even for Chip (who was a VERY good sport!) The lunch was so fun with sorbet, little sandwiches and delicious desserts. It was a great time! Just another awesome little spot in Newport.

Our Big News!

We found out we are having a BOY! We couldn’t be more excited, but we have to admit we were both a little surprised. I guess we hadn’t heard anything but girl so as Chip put it we were a little “shell shocked.” It has taken us about a week to stop turning to each other and saying, “What are we going to do with a boy?!” Chip keeps saying, “I have the princess thing down.” I’m sure we will welcome this little guy and he will quickly find a place in our hearts. He may wear pink and be surrounded by princess toys, but hey, that never hurt anyone.

Our second bit of news is less fun. We came home from our trip to Newport with a souvenir….the Swine Flu. We are actually on the mend, but seriously, it was not fun. We are almost done with our week long quarantine and still moving very slow. Today is the first day we graduated from PJs all day to sweat suits. This was a big step. The only positive thing is we survived and are now hopefully immune. What an adventure!

Mayzie's 2-year pictures

These are so late getting up, but I can’t not post them. I had a dear friend Laura Bunker take the girls pictures. She did an amazing job! The best part was how easy she made it. As you can see from all other photos taken of Mayzie and the fact I always have to take her back for retakes at a studio - she is not very photogenic. In fact, she is a stinker pants when the camera comes out. Laura got so many amazing expressions and smiles it was unbelievable. She even got cute ones of them together – near impossible!!! Check out Laura’s blog – she is very talented - http://www.laurabunker.com/

Pumpkin Walk

Blakeslie got to participate in her first Pumpkin Walk at her school. She has been going to support her cousins for a couple of years. She was so excited to have her very own pumpkin this year. I had a good time helping a couple of days in her classroom to paint and get everything ready. I'm so thankful she loves everything about kindergarten!

Soccer

We had a great soccer season! Blakeslie loved being with her friends a little more than actually playing, but she learned a lot and had a fun time. Chip was the assistant coach and he really loved being a part of the team and teaching and playing with the girls.

Disneyland!

We had so much fun on our quick trip to Disneyland. We spent 3 days in the two parks and we were all exhausted by the end. The girls loved every second of the adventure. (Almost as much as me! - I am a total Disney Freak!)

Meeting Tinkerbelle was a definite highlight for both girls. They both loved meeting all the Princesses with “Rella” being Mayzie’s most favorite and for Blakeslie’s it was Ariel and Belle. “Mouse” was another must meet for Mayzie, after her birthday party “Mouse” is kind of an obsession.

Mayzie’s favorite ride was It’s a Small World. She called it the “Baby House.” She still talks about it everyday….”boats”….”Baby...House”…..”boats.” She even “sings” the song; really it is just gibberish to the right tune.

Blakeslie’s favorite ride is Splash Mountain which she got to ride with a dear friend from home that just happened to be vacationing at the same time. It cracked me up when she kept saying the best part of the day was riding Splash Mountain with Grace. (Grace lives 7 minutes from us in Utah, but apparently she made the whole trip!) Blakeslie’s other favorites were “The Snow Ride” otherwise known as The Matterhorn, and Toy Story Mania. She even rode The Tower of Terror with Chip. The video of her describing what it did to her tummy is priceless!

I was in absolute heaven watching the girls and I think Chip got a kick out of watching me be so excited. It was really the perfect trip. I'm so glad we got to go even though it was much shorter of a vactation than I am use to. I told you this Kindergarten thing was going to cramp my style!

1st Day of Kindergarten!!!

Well that thing I have been dreading for 33 months finally happened. Blakeslie is officially in school. She is so excited and happy - it is mom who is dragging her feet. I'm not sad about her going to school necessarily, she LOVES to learn and thrives on any new knowledge. I'm just dreading the schedule. Do you understand what this will do to my traveling?!!!

We had so much fun leading up to the big day. We went on a lot of mother daughter dates for new clothes and supplies. We took advantage of being able to stay up late and the day before we went to Kangaroo Zoo.

Blakes had her Kindergarten assessment where she got to meet her new teacher. She is absolutely in love with her and her class pets Pepper and Paprika.

The first day was very exciting. She couldn't wait to get there and loved every second. Afterward, I got a sitter for Mayzie so I could take Bean to ice cream. We had a great time and I loved hearing about every detail.