Date night

Chet and I got to go out last night- the first time in a few months. We are very lucky- whenever my mom comes to visit, we try to go out for a date night. Thanks Mom!

We went to dinner and then tried to go to a movie- there were no good movies :( so we came home and watched Iron Man. Fun but not quite the same, I love going to the movies.

My belly has grown so much in the last 2 weeks! Now that I have an appetite, I am quickly catching up with gaining weight. I'm a little curious at how big this baby is going to be. :) We grow them big in our family! Here is a picture of me and Chet before our date- my sister requested a picture of my growing belly so here it is Suzanne. :)

*Look at the gorgeous sunset showing through the backdoor!


*not a good picture of me but it shows my belly better.


Have a great weekend!

Bella and her new pet

My mom and Bella went to the park yesterday and Bella came back with a buddie. She was holding a live cricket in her hand all the way home. She even tried to let it go in the grass but it wouldn't leave her. (And yes, it was still alive.)





She begged to bring it inside before letting it go. I agreed and put it in a cup for her. A few minutes later, I came back into the room and Bella and her cricket friend were sitting next to each other "watching a cartoon together."



She finally agreed to let it go and he is finally happy in our backyard.

Making up for lost time

I am finally feeling better- yeah! And my poor children suffered right along with me during my 9 week (who's counting??) pukey stage. We all were sick of hearing "Not today sweetheart, maybe later." I felt so bad and kept promising that I would make it up to them. Today, I finally got to keep my end of the promise with Bella. Julia is at school all day but I will make it up to her during her weeklong October break coming up.

Today, Bella and I spent 2 hrs at the gym (Arizona Olympian) near our house. It is a great gym that has open gym time for 1-5 yr olds. I spent most of my time following her around or jumping on the trampoline with her. We had a great time and can't wait to go back!

After gym time, we even got crazy :) and had Gelatto ice cream before lunch like Bella requested! I wasn't trying to spoil her- I really just enjoyed being able to do it all with her today without getting too wiped out. I did take a nap when we got home though! It was all that bouncing!

*Bella and her new do.


*Hanging over the pit




*We need one of these in our house!


Yummy!


*This was taken a mile after we left the ice cream place! She was wiped out!

Soccer Dad

Julia loves soccer and would choose it over any activity. She started her first season with Gilbert Youth Soccer Association this last week- the Girls Under 7 (6-7 yr olds) division. Her team is the "Pink Thunder" and she gets to be decked out in pink- even her cleats are black with pink stripes. She is actually very good at it and extremely confident on the field. She is not one of the kids that waits for the ball to come to them, she is a true go getter on the field. As a child, I would have preferred not to participate in any sort of team game or recital. I liked taking gymnastics or being on a softball team but HATED competition or recital days. Somehow, I produced children a little more comfortable in the spotlight.

Her first game was at 7:30am yesterday. Yes, 7:30AM! I had to work so Chet was the soccer dad yesterday. Her team won 3-2 and Julia scored her first goal! I was SO happy for her because I knew she worked hard for it and has always wanted to score a goal. I was so sad that I missed it though. Way to go Julia!

*Julia is the one on the far left- she was one of the goal defenders.

Our little escape up north

As a spur of the moment decision this morning, we decided to get out of the house and go to Payson. When we got there, we decided to explore the Natural Bridge area. It was a great day! I am so glad we went. We didn't plan to hike when we left the house so we weren't exactly prepared (notice my flip flops). We did a short hike to the waterfall which was amazing! And we stopped at all the scenic points. We promised the girls that we would come back and hike all the way down. It was just nice to go for a drive and get out of our normal weekend rut.

*A little too wet for our city girls.






*Picture of my belly at 13 1/2 weeks. I felt as rough as I look in this picture. The nausea still has not let up much. Yuck!
Bella loves her sunglasses. She would not take them off all day- even when we ate inside Subway. She is too funny- she can't just pose and smile normally!

No beating around the bush here

Julia was very busy the other night writing letters to everyone in our family. I laughed so hard when I read the ones for Chet and me. Gee- wonder what she really wanted to say?



In case you can't decipher a 1st graders writing, it says:
"Dear Mom, I love when you bake us cookies. They're delicious- my favorite cookies is chocolate chip cookies. I love you."
The picture on the left is Julia standing in front of the oven saying "yum". Hmm? Is she trying to tell me something? Or trying to remind me how to make cookies?



Chet's note says:
"Dear Dad, I love when you wrestle with us, its fun but when you bite us I don't want you to do that. Love Julia"
To explain- Chet loves to play rough with the girls and they love it. But, sometimes he is too rough (according to them) and it causes some tears. And to clarify, he doesn't really bite hard, just play bites.
The photo on the left is of them wrestling.

Happy birthday to our fur baby #1!

Harley, our little Boston Terrier, turned 10 over the weekend. She truly is our first baby. We bought her the day after our honeymoon. Everyone thought we were crazy for adding a dog to the mix so early but it was the best thing we did. So, in her honor we threw her a birthday party! Julia and Bella got such a kick out of it. Harley wasn't sure what to think- I am sure she thought we were preparing to send her off to the farm or something.

Both dogs got steak (yes, we're nuts), a decorated cookie from the pet shop (most of which is still sitting outside untouched), and Harley got a new toy. The girls got Oreo sundaes. The dogs got to eat at the table with us. I pictured two well mannered dogs eating from the table. What I didn't realize was that they would soon have their paws and mouth all over my kitchen table. Oh well. No worries- we brought out the disinfectant as soon as we were done. Some of you clean freaks may not be eating dinner at our house anytime soon! :)

Happy birthday Harley!!

*Doesn't she look thrilled?


*Yummy!


*I'm all done- can I have some of yours??