Our December: It's a wrap!

I’ve actually started multiple posts, but have never had the time or motivation to complete more than one thought at a time. We have been extremely busy this month. It’s been a rollercoaster with lots of ups and downs, but mostly ups! In total the girls opened presents 12 times. They are so fortunate to have so many people who love them so much. I just wish it was as much fun to give the girls money for college or classes than it is to give gifts ;o)

My big news is that I can now say I officially weigh 7 pounds less than I did when we moved here. I have been working out at least 5 days a week for an hour. I started taking a Power Cardio class and a Core Conditioning class that have been paying off, so I will keep up with them.

And look at this lovely (too early to be taking pictures mom!) picture of me making a main-dish salad during Christmas. We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Dave has been on vacation since the 23rd which has been really nice. He even got a call on one of his off days to find out he received a nice raise!

And While most are looking forward to 2011, I am just looking forward to Monday. It’s time to get off the rollercoaster that is December and back to routines and complete thoughts.

Happy New Year!

Candy Birthday Cake

Devils Food Cake with Cookies and Cream Mousse and Vanilla Buttercream
fondant accents, lollipops, and gumballs

Kayleigh is 6!

That's my SIX YEAR OLD girl. Loves wearing hats, dresses, short sleeves, pink, tight pants or leggings, and sparkles.

I guess her Dora backpack wasn't that cool anymore... Hello Kitty, Bratz dolls, and playing "teenager" is the new cool. Thank goodness she still likes to play silly with her parents, school with her sister, and animal doctor with her stuffed animals.
She has the best smile and vocabulary, which is starting to include more spanish. Other cool things about Kayleigh that I am proud of is how empathetic she is and all the different and healthy food she eats. She is very conscious of what is a healthy choice and usually chooses regular milk at school ;0)I love this little/big girl so very much!

Zoe's day

Happy Birthday to Zoe! On the 11th she turned 3 years old. We celebrated from sunrise to sunset. We started with presents, breakfast banana splits (Zoe's choice), a movie, lunch, playing, breakfast for dinner, and more playing.

Over the past few weeks I can tell Zoe truly turned 3. She has been playing more on her own- playing with the kitchen and her babies. She's a funny one too. She's more aggressive than the rest of us which makes us all laugh because it's so unexpected. And the coolest thing is that she is so good at recognizing letters and numbers. I guess it helps that she has an older sister :) I love you, Sweet Zoe Jane!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cake with Cream Cheese & Butterfinger Frosting

This year I had the pleasure of making my Grandma's birthday cake. Thanks mom for hiring me- I loved to be able to do this!

This cake was a little time consuming, but so worth it. Each component was amazing. The peanut butter cake was tasty, the chocolate/peanut butter ganache was delicous on it's own, and the cream cheese frosting wasn't too sweet and it was super fluffly. It will be my always recipe for cream cheese frosting.

Thank you Bon Appetit for an amazing recipe.

Our Holiday Weekend

Last weekend we took my Grandparents to "Mooey Christmas" in Mesa. Zoe sat with Santa- she was very excited. It was worth the $10! Kayleigh was afraid so she played in the "snow" instead. The "snow" was a huge pile of cotton seed. Both girls loved it.

Ha! It looks like it's snowing here.... my camera is really dirty!

Of course both girls loved the petting zoo. I was more afraid of the animals than there were.

After the hay-ride we made and ate s'mores.. yumm On Sunday Dave and the girls spent the afternoon outside and hung lights.

This is our tree this year. Our place is too small for the large one, so this will have to do. I think it's cute.

Last weekend was Holiday themed, this weekend will be Birthday themed as well as next weekend, then another Holiday... Crazy!!

play

Whoa! I haven't been here in a while... We've been busy. The day goes by so fast! School, gym, lunch, nap, school, homework or a playdate, dinner, free time, and bed. It's pretty much the same everyday... Except days we run errands or weekends :)

Above is Zoe giving the Littlest Pet Shops a bath.

The girls playing restaurant.

Dress up has been popular on the weekends.

Saturday Morning Crafts

Today we are foregoing all of the things we could and should be doing to get back to basics. Crafts. Food. Puzzles. Music. Making messes (and cleaning them up). Tonight we see "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" it should be fun!

Zoe's Kite

The ladies at the gym make cute little crafts every morning. Lately they have been doing kites. Zoe asks for one every day. Both K and Z are crazy about them.

I'm in love with our grass. Miss Umi made a pretty good likeness of Z.
And this is just plain funny! Zoe-in-a-basket. Doesn't she look cozy?

Lemon tree

when life gives you lemons... you make limoncello! My zest is steeping as we speak :)

Zoe

You can't see it in these pictures, but Z's shirt says big sisiters are the coolest. As the big sister in my family I knew Zoe really wanted that shirt!

A day in the life (for Katie)

We go to school.We stop to take silly pictures.We eat snacks after school but before homework.We go to the gym.We act gangsta at a young age.

Kayleigh does her hair

Kayleigh took it upon herself to fix her hair this past weekend. We got a good laugh out of all the clips. A few minutes later she came out looking like a bouquet of daisies- we were ROFL!

Lightining McQueen cake from the Disney "Cars" movie

This was a fun cake! I made it for Gunnar's 5th birthday. I bought a blank costco cake and decorated it. Everything is edible excpet for the flags, car, and candles of course. The grandstand is rice crispy treats covered in frosting. It was a lot of work, but I'm happy with the results.

Where would I be without the love and support of my family? Thanks Mom for all of your help!

First Fieldtrip and Bus Ride

I've been feeling what mother's have been saying for years: Enjoy it because it goes by fast. I think it's because once school starts there is so much to look forward to. And not just for kids, but the parents too.

I was lucky enough to escort Kayleigh and 75 other kindergarteners on their first fieldtrip. A BIG thank you to my mom for spending a few days with us so I could go. Myself and another parent had a group of 7 boys and girls. We had a really great group.This is how it was the entire day... At a 10 (for the kids). Always moving. Always excited. Always happy.

The kids had a full day of picking their own vegetables to take home, learning about the farm, a corn maze, lunch AND ice cream, animals to pet, things to climb, and picking out that perfect pumpkin.

Kayleigh was on cloud nine at the farm and talked about riding the bus for days. She even asked me if I could find someone else to sit by so she could sit by a friend. Whomp. Whomp.

She has been saying for a long time that she wants to be a vet when she grows up. I really hope she does!

Baked Eggplant

WOW! This was delicious and didn't call for any fancy ingredients. Eggplant, mushrooms, onion, garlic, tomato sauce and cheese. An all around winner for our no meat night. Oh, and the most awsome thing about this meal? At 168 calories per serving there is room for dessert!! It's easy all you have to do is follow THIS link to the recipe.