Camille- my little fish

Camille loves her bathtime! She gets so excited when I start running the bath. She uses her thick baby legs and splashes so hard- you are soaked when bath time is done. It's fun to watch her have so much fun but sometimes I need to stay dry during bath time. I used the bumbo seat (loaned to us by my sister- thanks!) in the bath and she loved it. So, did Julia who got to bathe with her.

Turkey day

We are fortunate to live close to both of our families and this year we spent the day with everyone together at Aunt Shannon and Uncle Al's. It was a great day- lots of food, fun anf family! Julia and Bella had been sick for a few days so it was nice to leave the house and have a delicious homemade dinner.

Every year Chet and I are delegated to bring the bread (always store bought). It started off as a joke but has become tradition- I admit, I never fought hard to change it and my cooking history did not warrant a contribution upgrade. :) Both moms (Chet's and my mom) are great cooks and I have really been trying to be a better cook. This year I brought homemade rolls- turned out ok, but could have been much better (next year!).

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Now off to finish Christmas card photos and start baking!

*My photo option has been weird and won't let me move them around or comment. The first is of my parents and family. The last one is of Chet's family (the ones who live in AZ).





*Some of the cousins- Julia, Isaac, Brennan (holding Camille) and Camille at GGs house over the weekend.

Home sweet home

Finally getting back to a normal life and not living out of boxes (most of the time). We moved to Maricopa 2 weeks ago and so far its great. I had never been to Maricopa despite living in AZ all my life- I didn't even know where it was. Boy, is it far and pretty removed! But, its a nice community with all the important ammenities and our neighborhood is beautiful!

Those that know me well know that I am picky with schools. I had some issues with Julia's school last year but really tried to be involved and worked with the principal on some of the issues. I am happy to report that I love our new school here- Pima Butte Elementary. I am amazed at how caring the teachers are and how involved the principal is. All of the staff have gone out of their way to make Julia feel welcome.

One of the hard things about moving was downsizing our house size- 2300 sq ft to 1400 sq ft. I write this as I sit in our "office"- otherwise known as the floor in the corner of our bedroom. :) We have accumulated so much stuff over 10 yrs- it's insane! I think we have pared down as much as we can and I have to say, I actually like living in a smaller home. I feel more connected with the kids and I LOVE having less stuff. The older girls share a room so that they could have a playroom and so far its working out really well. But, the biggest plus is that it only took me 30 minutes to vacuum and mop the entire house yesterday! Double yay!!!

May the force be with you

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and we seem to enjoy it more and more each year. Now that the girls are getting older, gone are the cute fairy and ladybug costumes of years past. This year they wanted to pay tribue to one of their new favorite movies- Star Wars!

*Bella really wanted to be Darth Vader but I had to veto it due to the large plastic mask. I love little Bella dearly but the girl is super clumsy- without the trouble of a mask!

They had a great time! We trick or treated in our neighborhood and then headed over to Angie and Joe's to run off their sugar high with their cousins. They woke up this morning eagar to carefully look over their loot and for some candy swapping (Julia's idea).

This first picture is an awesome house in our neighborhood. They had it decked out like a pirate ship- lights, masts, lighting to make it look like a stormy sea, etc. It was SO fun!