Lil Punkins

I LOVE this time of year and I love my kids' ages...it's so much fun to do things with them! And we got to take Finn to his first Pumpkin Patch ever!

Halloween Party

 The girls were so excited to have a few friends over in the beginning of Oct. to kick off the Halloween season! I have to admit...I loved planning it and having all the kids here...they were great and it was so fun to get into the spirit of fall!

 Making "You've Been Booed" signs so they could Boo their friends later in the month! Here are the 7 year olds.

 Decorating Halloween cookies...Here are the 4 year olds.

Oma and Opa's house

 Happy birthday Oma! She's doing great after her knee surgery and the girls have been able to keep her entertained on several occasions! It's so nice to live close to you guys again! We love you!

July 2012

 Happy 4th of July! I'm late on getting all of these posted...but I wanted to thank Oma & Opa for all of the nice weekends we spent with them this summer. (I need to get pics off their camera!!) But it was so nice to go up to their house over weekends...Oma does such a nice job of planning special things for us to do like going to the park, having a picnic by the lake, going to see "Brave" when it was SO HOT outside! The girls LOVE going up to their house and playing with all of Chris and Colin's old toys! You guys make it such a nice getaway for us!! And you also help us out on so many occasions with babysitting!! THANK yOU and we LOVE you!!

Mueller State Park...our first camping trip with just our family...the girls loved exploring the woods...not such enthusiastic hikers...but GREAT campers!! :)

Hawaii #3

 I have to do some catching up...in June Grandma & Grandpa took us all to Hawaii again!! Aren't we the luckiest?? Here are: Pete, Sheila, & Finn, Grandma & Grandpa with Lizzie, Ali, & Nora in front, Chris & I, Erin, Tony & Charlie

 Jammie kids!!

 Thank you SO much Dad and Janey for such a wonderful time!! It is always so special to spend so much time with everyone...I loved having us all together...we really appreciate how much effort you put into getting us together and making such special memories. We love you!!

We LOVE FINN!

 We had a 3 day Celebration for Finn's FIRST birthday! Grandpa & Grandma were in town and we surprised everyone and drove up to Pete & Sheila's house and we all took Finn to the zoo on his real birthday. It was great to see you again Dad and Janey! Ali got to skip school!! HE HE! The girls were so excited to see Tiare and Thadeus again...it's so fun to have cousins in town!

 Helping finn to walk around the zoo!

 The next day we got to go to Boulder to hang out. Nana is in this picture...Chris took the day off work and Ali again skipped school! (I didn't think I would be that kind of parent...but I know it's important to spend time with family!!) We were SO lucky that Nana was in Colorado for a whole month!! She was so helpful with babysitting and I LOVED it when she would bring Finn over to my house so that Lizzie could play with Finn and she & I could talk. It was a very special time and I miss her already!! One night Chris let me go over to the condo she rented, we had a glass of wine, got pedicures, and went out to dinner at Wash Park Grill. It was SUCH a nice time to be able to spend with my mom! I love you MOM!!! :)

 The lure of the fountains was just too much and little by little they kept getting wetter and wetter until their dresses were SOAKED!! Fortunately, it was a hot day and they dried quickly!

Both girls LOVED seeing Finn so much over the summer...they played with him so well and loved taking care of him. He gets so excited to see the girls...he is such a happy guy and SUCH a cutie!! We love you Finn!

First Days of School

 Alexandra started 2nd grade! She started school in early August...it seemed like a short summer and Lizzie & I missed her during the day! But she has an awesome teacher and is in class with Bailey again (below)! She seems happy there and is, as always, such a good student! (I am SO thankful!!) It was also fun to go shopping with her for her new back to school outfit. Her favorite store is Justice and I took her to the mall and we tried on outfits for her and she also gave me ideas for new clothes for me! It was maybe the first time we went shopping just the two of us at the mall. We shared a berry smoothie (which actually got on her new outfit....but I managed to get the stain out!) and it was a lovely afternoon with my lovely daughter!

 One of my favorite stories of Ali recently is one night a few weekends ago Chris and I just didn't feel like doing the bedtime routine...we were tired and just wanted to watch a movie. So, Chris paid Ali $5 to put Lizzie and herself in bed. Elizabeth was in the right mood and enjoyed taking directives from CareTaker Ali...they brushed teeth, Ali read stories, and Lizzie got tucked in! When we went to check on them, Ali was in her reading chair reading her own book "Puppy Place" and all ready for bed! We were SO impressed and proud of her! It was awesome and Chris and I got to enjoy some quiet time watching Mad Men!

 Three weeks after Ali started school, Elizabeth started her second year of preschool. We switched preschools this year so that she could go 3 days a week and it's at a Lutheran Church and I love it! They have a great curriculum and the teacher is SO sweet! For some reason I was really anxious that Lizzie would be so bored while Ali was in school. But we have managed so far to keep busy doing things or be happy at home...I thought those 3 weeks would be forever long but the time goes so fast!!

(Elizabeth's preschool friend who was in her class last year also!!) My favorite story about Elizabeth recently is that even when Ali isn't around, Lizzie will be thinking of her sister. For example, she got this sticker book to keep her busy while Ali is in school and Lizzie said that she wouldn't do some of the pages because she wanted to save some for Ali. She is so thoughtful and sweet!!