a whole 2 days?

Bella was the first one up this morning at 7am. I thought nothing of it until she came out of her room with her school clothes on and her hair brushed.

Me- "Today is Sunday sweetheart."

Bella- "I know" as she proceeded to sit down for breakfast.

Me- "You don't have school on Sundays"

Bella- "You mean we get a whole 2 days off...again??

Too funny! Apparently, she only needs one day to recuperate and is ready for school again!

Meet the Creature

There is a neat program at the Environmental Education Center (where I work)- a program by East Valley Wildlife called Meet the Creature. Julia and Bella love going to this program- they always bring in the neatest animals like Sugargliders and baby hummingbirds. Today, was a little different- it was the Great Guinea Wash day where they bring in all the guineas and let the kids bathe and groom the guineas. So fun and definitely the the highlight of our week.

"help me!"

Julia reacting to one of the guineas shaking dryAll warn and dryShe even got a bow. A few minutes after this shot was taken, this guinea but Bella's finger pretty hard and even drew blood (and lots of tears). We think maybe "she" is really a "he" and didn't like the bow. :)

Bearizona

I came home from work on Saturday intending to suggest a day trip to Chet but he beat me to it by suggesting a trip to Bearizona. Apparently, we both felt the need to get out of town and the stifling heat.

Bearizona is a new drive-through bear park up north. We saw black bears, bison, wolves, etc- all from our car. At the end, you can get out and see baby bears and bobcats in their zoo habitats.

I love this picture- Camille is just starting to mimic whatever the older girls are doing.

My favorite crazy animal!

Happy to be out of her car seat and run around

After the park, we headed to Kaibab Lake for some exploring. As soon as we got there, Camille signed "bath" and started taking off her shirt. We stripped her down to her diaper and let her wade around. The water was kind of cold but she didn't seem to mind.

It was a gorgeous day and always nice to do something new!

Desert life

Being an Arizona native, I can get bored of desert life very easy. It doesn't help that my sister blogs about roaming deer in her backyard and weekend trips to the lake- a little jealous over here!

No herd of deer for us, but we have a resident collared lizard (my best guess) in our backyard. We know it's the same one because of his/her markings. We think she has a baby and that's why she sticks around. This lizard is huge! Bigger than any lizard I've seen in a backyard.

Anyway, just a little thrill on our lives these days. :) We have felt a little cooped up and can't wait for cooler weather.

Bella has always been a dancer at heart- she has this natural talent that is so energetic and free spirited. I love watching her energy and am secretly jealous that I don't have an ounce of that talent.

This year, we decided to give the performing team a try. Being a part of a studio team is a huge commitment (from her and us) but we knew she would love it. Try outs were on the first day of Kindergarten (talk about a long day for her!) and she has had an additional 4 hours of rehearsals this week. One bonus- it made bedtime super easy this week. She practically tucked herself in! :)

She absolutely loves every minute and LOVES being a part of the team. She especially loves the attention and love that she gets from the older girls (the ones in Junior/Senior High). There was a slumber party last night for all the girls- even though she didn't spend the night, I still had to drag her out at 11pm.

Can't wait for a fun year and to support our tiny dancer!!

Back to school

*Don't we all have this same "forced, in front of the house, 1st day of school" shot? :)

Summer vacation flew by (we had a blast!) and now back to school. Julia started 3rd grade and Bella started Kindergarten today. Sniff, sniff...

Julia was excited to start school again- she couldn't fall asleep last night, she was so excited! There are only a handful of girls in her class this year and none that she knew well so that made her a little nervous. She makes friends easily and I know she'll do fine.
Bella was the first one up and dressed this morning. Over the years, she has patiently watched as Julia goes off to the first day of school. Now, it's her turn! All morning, she revelled in all the necessary school tasks- getting her lunch packed, eating breakfast early, etc. It was so cute to watch.
Chet and I, on the other hand, were sad that Bella has grown up so fast. We dropped her off at the Kindergarten drop off and she ran off to play, without even looking back. She has been waiting for this day all summer! She will love school!

I will miss you girls and can't wait to hear all about your day!

Off to hold Camille a little tighter. :)