Our cool weekend up north

We decided to go to Flagstaff this weekend for a short family vacation. We rented a cabin, hung out and enjoyed the cool weather! It was 75-80 degrees all weekend. We loved it so much and realized that Flag has such mild seasons that Chet and I even looked for houses (just for fun with a smidge of seriousness). We must have expensive taste or we are just drawn to the "good" neighborhoods because we only found homes that were no less than $400,000!

It was so nice sitting on the patio reading a book watching the girls look for bugs and pinecones and just enjoying being outside! We also went fishing and caught nada. The girls had a blast anyway. Julia learned how to cast her own line (correct term?) and so did I! We also rode the skilift to the top of Snowbowl which was a 30-40 minute ride each way. It was nice but a little unnerving while sitting next to squirmy Bella. We could only ride 2 to a lift so we had to split up.





*That's Bella and I way back there.

"Huh, I guess I can swim!"

It was a HUGE day in our house yesterday. Both Bella and Julia swam by themselves- for the first time! We decided to go for an evening swim after Chet got home. Bella wanted to swim without floaties and she loved it. We never would have guessed that she could learn so quickly or that she would learn before Julia. Maybe we should have more faith in our kids, huh? It's so cute to watch her- she looks like a little bobbing pencil in the water. She does just enough to keep her head above water (most of the time). She is fearless- within minutes of learning this new skill, she was jumping of the side of the pool and bobbing right up. We are so proud of her and can't wait to see how much she progresses the rest of the summer.

It is amazing that 2 biological sisters could be SO different. Julia loves to swim- with her floaties- and has been so hesitant to swim without them. After a few minutes of watching us praise Bella, she also agreed to swim without her trusted floaties. Her first attempt was across the length of the pool and she did great! After she was done, she said "Huh, I guess I can swim!" She is so proud. She has always wanted to join a swim team like her friend Jamie so that's her goal for next summer.

My mom said that my sister and I were the same way. I was always worried about trying new things and my sister was fearless.

Now, I just to figure out how to go swimming alone with 2 kids who are new swimmers! That should be relaxing! :)

Video of Bella


Video of Julia (this video should be titled "Use your arms, kick, use your arms, kick"). You need to turn up the sound to see what I am saying.
Just kidding Chet- you were a great teacher!

Buying organic on a budget

We try to buy mostly organic milk, dry goods, meat, other dairy, etc BUT buying organic produce in Arizona is SO expensive and hard to find. When organic strawberries are $5 a pint (!), I mostly reach for the conventional strawberries for $1 pint.

There is a local, non profit co-op (volunteer run) that has recently added organic produce to their list. For $25, you can get a basket full of organic fruits and veggies. Today was their first pick up day and I was so excited! They have a pickup site right in my neighborhood (a total of 20+ sites in the East Valley).

From what I understand, the co-op has enough participants to have the same buying power as Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc. But, they don't markup the prices like the stores do- they share the wholesale savings with the co-op participants. Can't beat that!

This is what I got this morning for $25:


I figured out that I would have spent the same amount of $ if I bought the same amount of conventional items in a store.

For anyone interested, the website is www.bountifulbaskets.org

Belated birthday party pictures

Julia's birthday party was last weekend. Every year, she only wants a pool party at home. This year, I even gave her the choice at having a themed party at the rec center (to make it easier on us) but she still chose an old fashioned pool party. It was pretty low key- except for the HUGE water slide/bouncy that Chet rented. It was fun and the kids played on it almost the whole time.





*This is Bella jumping off the side. It's a crazy shot! And she is a fearless crazy girl who has no idea what it's like without her trusted floaties.

Camp Rock- so who's watching??

Another reason I love having girls. We love the Jonas Brothers (how cute are they??) and can't wait to watch Camp Rock tonight! So, who else is living vicariously through their kids?

I added the SOS song to my playlist for my sister whose kids are still too young for all of this pre-tween stuff. Send Elise to our house and we'll take care of that. :)

Happy birthday to my sweet girl!

Julia turned 6 today. I can't believe it! I swear the last 6 years have flown by. She and I love looking at old pictures and videos and I miss her baby days. I also love watching her grow into such a big girl with her own personality. She will always be my baby.





A few of the many reasons we love you, Julia:
~You are such a kind big sister.
~ You are a very kind friend. You always think of other's feelings.
~You care a lot about others and are always the first to tell us Happy Birthday, or Happy Mother's/Father's Day on our special days.
~You are turning into a little tree hugger (just like mom).
~You love our new family customs like Friday Movie Nights and Sunday morning donuts.
We LOVE you!!

Julia has been counting down the days and enjoyed every minute of her special day.
She chose what she wanted for breakfast (blueberry waffles), and then we went to the Harkins Summer Movie and saw "Surf's Up". She sat in the row in front of me, with her 2 friends- Victoria and Elizabeth.



After the movies, we ran a bunch of errands for her party and made one fun stop. I took her to the nail salon where I usually get my nails done. I thought it would be a treat for her to get her nails painted and a small design. (A step up from the nail decals I buy from Walgreen's!). The ladies at the salon are SO nice and did both her toes and fingers with elaborate designs and only charged us $7 as a birthday treat. They also treated both girls to pizza and drinks. For anyone here in the East Valley, Mist Nails in Gilbert (Lindsay and Pecos) is awesome and the owners, Ann and Keira, are wonderful.

*How cute is this? Her party theme is butterflies.


As soon as we got home, we had 9 of our playgroup friends over for a playgroup bday party! Yikes!
As soon as they all left, Chet and I and the girls went out to eat for a birthday dinner.
Her birthday celebration continues tomorrow with her real birthday party.
Off to sleep......

Dance recital

Julia and Bella had their first dance recital last night. Both of them love to perform and did such a great job! I was a little hesitant to have them join a real studio since it can be slightly overwhelming. Maybe I am overthinking it, but I have an issue with some of the dance moves looking so grownup and having to look so made up for the recital. I know this is all part of what you sign up for but am also secretly glad that Julia already shows a preference for soccer and gymnastics.

Either way, they loved it last night and I am so happy that they are confident enough to perform in front of such a big crowd.

Julia is in a jazz class and Bella is in the ballet & tap class. They performed at Higley Performing Arts Center in front of over 400 people! It was a huge show and so fun to watch!

*Before the show. All dolled up!


This picture of Julia makes me laugh (she is on the far right). I have no idea where she gets her confidence from. I was totally the opposite as a child!






*Bella is blowing kisses to "her" audience! She is the one right in the middle on the floor. She couldn't see us since the stage lights were so bright.


*My parents came from Prescott just to see the show. Thanks guys! I was very impressed that my dad happily sat through a 2 1/2 hr recital- especially since all the dances were to Disney songs.


* The girls with their trophies. Bella loves her trophy- its her first one.

My kind of camping

It's no secret that I really don't like camping. It's not the outdoor element or lack of amenities- that is all fine with me. The parts I don't enjoy are camping with 2 little ones and trying to keep them from running off or falling into the campfire AND the all the dirt in the tent. I don't really like dirt all over the tent and its tough keeping the kids clean. Boy, I really sound uptight now! :)
My idea of camping would be in a trailer or cabin!
BUT, Chet and the girls love camping as do Chet's family. Chet just bought this huge tent that he has been eyeing and it was finally on sale. We were supposed to go camping over Memorial Day but didn't so Chet set up the tent in the backyard and we slept there overnight. It was great! The kids loved it and I still had my Sunday morning Starbucks in the comfort of our home. Perfect!

*The tent is HUGE. I think it is 20x20.


This is Bella and her cousin Brennan. They are affectionately known as the "Wonder Twins" in our family. They are only 3 months apart. Here they are playing pirates. Brennan has the true pirate look down!