Then and Now

Shortly after moving to Az and joining a mom's group I met a wonderful person who has since become one of my good friends. Adrianna is leaving for a few months and I will miss her! I thought this would be a perfect time to look back on one of my fonder memories of our two girls. Adrianna has a daughter who is very close in age to Madison and when the girls were younger it was very hard to tell the two apart. They both had lighter hair and pretty much bald heads. They were roughly the same size and developmentally the same, for the most part. In the first picture (taken when the girls were about 8 mos.) they look very similar to each other and the second picture was just taken August 1st (Girls are 2) and it is evident how much they have grown and how they each have their own look now. Adrianna and I still laugh about how much they looked alike and how we always had a hard time telling them apart. I just know that Adrianna is going to be one of those friends that will be in my life for a long time and hopefully our girls will be able to grow up together (along with many of my other friends and their amazing kids).

Back to School

Makenzie started back to school on Monday (orientation) and then her first official day was Wed.

Makenzie had missed school so much so she was not scared or upset when it was time for me to go. She did seem sad to leave Madison and told her, "I will miss you best friend!" That made my heart melt, but for the most part I was tear-free. Makenzie goes to an awesome school and they served us all breakfast and had a present for all of the parents which was called a cry baby bag or a parent survival kit. Attached was a little letter that I thought was so precious I had to share it:

Dear parents,

After you have wiped your tears, make yourself a cup of tea. Put your feet up and relax and take a minute to remember a few things while holding...

Cotton Ball- The softness will help you to remember the gentle spirit of your child

Rubber Band- Remember to help your child learn the possibilities and importance of having a flexible mind, heart and body. Stretch them, but not to the breaking point.

Candle- Celebrate life with your child. We usually celebrate birthdays and other special occasions, but overlook life's daily triumphs. Everyday miracles and extraordianary effort are reason enough to celebrate.

String- Think of it as a kite string- and remember to let your child soar, but don't let go of the string.

Penny- This is for your child's thoughts. Remember to have a conversation. lots of conversations. Don't just tell your child what you think or what they should think. Find out what they think. Encourage them to think for themselves. then listen very, very carefully.

Cross- Remember that Jesus loves you and your child

Thank you for entrusting your child with us. we promise to do our best every day to be your child's companion in learning and growing, both academically and spiritually.

Blessings, your staff at Christ Greenfield Lutheran preschool

Summer Fun!

With school starting tomorrow, I thought that I would recap our summer and some of the amazing experiences that we have had.

My Friends

This is just a few of the amazing women that I am lucky to call my friends. Moving out here two years ago I never thought that I would meet a group of ladies that are as amazing, friendly, understanding and supportive as these wonderful women. We try to meet at least once a week and all of us have at least one kid that is around the same age. This particular picture was taken at a birthday party for sweet mackenzie!

D-Backs Game July 24th, 2009

We had so much fun at the diamond back stadium. They have an amazing play land for the kids and a peter piper pizza inside. The girls loved playing and eating super expensive stadium food. We were really high up though which was kinda scary when you have an energetic 2 year old, but it all worked out and will definitely be going to another game soon!

Maddie's 2nd Birthday at CEC

I have very fond memories of Chuck E. Cheese since I worked there for most of high school. I have always thought they were a great company and provide so much fun. Makenzie had her first birthday at CEC and now Madison has celebrated a birthday there as well. It was so much fun and she was able to celebrate with some of her closest friends. Madison ended up with a black eye (which Brian attributes to the coger birthday curse), but she really enjoyed herself and I think had an awesome birthday!

Toddler Mcdonalds

One of my favorite things about AZ is how kid friendly everything is. There is so many options to get your kids out of the heat and one of the cheapest is the Toddler Mcdonalds. They have an entire play area dedicated to toddlers. It can get pretty crowded, but we were able to meet up with our friend baby mackenzie and her mommy for some lunch and play before it got too packed!

4th of July

One of my earliest childhood memories is going to Fairmont Park in CA and having BBQ's. If anyone knows my mom it is one of her favorite parks and she suggests going there for any holiday which permits having a BBQ. This was where we spent the fourth of July and it was a ton of fun! We played badminton for a couple hours (YES HOURS) and sat by the lake enjoying awesome food and visiting with family and friends.

Night Swimming Anyone?

Our first night in CA, my mom insisted that we all break out our bathing suits and go swimming. Madison couldn't stay awake, but the rest of us were swimming around 11PM. Makenzie thought it was the coolest thing in the whole world taht we could stay up late to go swimming!

Road Trip

This is one of my favorite pictures from our road trip to CA. It was not a really special drive and is one that we have made dozens of times, but I wanted to make it seem more like a vacation so me and the girls played all kinds of games and took a dozen pictures. This was during a stop for gas. While in Ca we got to do two things I have never done before which is visit the L.A. Zoo (free with my Phoenix zoo membership) and the aquarium of the pacific (which is fantastic!!!)

Makenzie's Birthday Party

Makenzie celebrated her fourth birthday at build-a- Bear. She really wanted to have it there and wanted to invite her entire class. It was so much fun watching all of the kids make their bears, but I thought the best part was seeing all of her classmates react when they saw each other. They had been on summer vacation for about a month before Makenzie's party so when they saw each other they were giving hugs and were so excited to see each other. Makenzie and madison still are sleeping with the bears they made so I think it was a hit!