Little Boy Blue

Even though he is already 26 months, I still have to pinch myself to remind me that he is mine. Oh how I adore this little man of mine!!!

Hoe Down Venezia Style!

Gabby's school had a family Hoe Down at Western Trails Ranch in Morristown, Arizona! It was not exactly right next door, but the drive was definitely worth it!! The girls learned some country dances while enjoying hoe down grub with good friends.

The Next Food Network Star

Pancake Sunday!

The girls love being in the kitchen.

Gabby loves watching the food network almost as much as Daddy.

Her favorites include

Giada de Laurentiis, Guy Fieri and Alton Brown.

Today she helped Daddy make

Alton Brown's "Instant" Pancake Mix.

The pancakes were delicious!!

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.     Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

Gary and I decided to begin 2010 with a new tradition. I read about One little word last year but I never took the time to really follow through with it.

This year will be different. Gary and I are seriously committed to Simplifying our life. We believe that by simplfying our life we will be able to truly enjoy what is most important to us; our family.

We are excited about this new challenge and are really looking forward to a wonderful year ahead!

 

Happy New Year!!!

We decided to bring in 2010 with some goofy glasses and homemade donuts.

We are VERY excited about the coming year and are busy making some New Year's resolutions.

Jack

25 months

"Cars, trucks..."

Translated by sisters into learning how to ride a tricycle.

Sophie Cate

4 years

Master a back flip in gymnastics

Gabby

6 years

Ride a bike without training wheels

Happy New Year!

18 months... it really is tough work.

Best Friends

Remember this cute boy? Their friendship was new territory for us- Gabby had never had a best friend before. But as the months passed and the adventures of Gabby and Kody continued we soon realized that Kody was indeed a very special friend- he is her best friend. The friend that somehow makes it into every story that comes home from preschool. The friend that is the recipient of the artwork that was once reserved for mommy and daddy. The friend that play dates revolve around.

The best part of this precious friendship is that they both adore each other. Gabby loves collecting bugs with Kody and he loves that she will chase down a cockroach and create the perfect habitat for it. They really are adorable together.

Unfortunately Kody and Gabby will attend different elementary schools. Gabby is taking this really hard. We talk about the fun play dates we will share after school and they are both excited about celebrating their 6th birthdays together (their birth dates are three days apart). But she is still nervous about starting the Kindergarten adventure without her sidekick.

So when her school offered a fundraiser where the kids can decorate a tile that would adorn the walls of their new school Gary and I jumped at the opportunity for Gabby to bring a piece of Kody to her new school with her. We told her about the tiles and before we could even suggest our ideas- she told us that she was going to paint a tile of her and Kody holding hands- so that she could visit it every day and remember her special friend. Perfect!

Today was the day to create.

She started with a horse stamp and then she took off with her creation.

She LOVES it and was sad that she could not bring it home.

This is a picture pre kiln- once it is on the wall I will post a new picture.

We are so excited that Gabby is happy with her tile. We would much prefer her to walk into Kindergarten hand in hand with Kody but we will take the special tile that we know will give our Gabby girl some comfort when she is missing her best friend.