FIRST Day of School!

I can't believe that Summer vacation is over and it's time to head back to school. My girls have been counting down the days for the first day of school. Ashley was super excited this morning to finally start Kindergarten. She has been waiting a LONG time to be in elementary school. Everyday we would drop off Madison, she would ask to stay. Let's hope now that she is old enough that she still wants to be there. :)
Madison started Second grade today. She loves school and couldn't wait to see her friends that she has missed all summer.

The girls and their Daddy!



This is Madison's best friend, Boe, who lives up the street from us. We are actually moving this weekend so Madison is bummed she won't be able to walk to school with Boe. We are only moving a few blocks away to a home we just purchased. I will blog more about that later.

Basketball

Basketball season is over and Madison is very disappointed. This was her first time playing and she loved it. She ended up playing in a league where the girls were 1 - 2 years older than her and these girls were GOOD . I was surprised by their dribbling skills and their ability to make their outside shots. In the beginning, I thought Madison might be in over her head, but I think playing with girls that had more experience only made her try harder. I can't wait for next season and hopefully Ashley will be old enough to play too!

Brad Paisley Concert

Last Friday night we headed down to LA and went to a Brad Paisley concert at the Staples Center. I am not a huge country fan, but thought it would be fun since my two brothers and their wives were going, and my parents were going too. Brad did not disappoint. He was so entertaining and of course it helped that we had great seats!

My twin brother Gary, his wife Jen, me, Joe, my sister n law Angie and my brother Steve! My parents didn't get in this picture, but they were sitting with us too!

My parents!

Happy 5th Birthday Ashley

Ashley is turning FIVE this month on the 27th. It's hard to believe that five years have gone by since she was born. We celebrated her birthday a little early this year since this past Saturday, January 16th, was the only free Saturday we had all month!

Ashley wanted to do a "Princess Parlor" theme so we invited all her friends and glamored them all up with finger nail painting, princess art on their arms, crafts, etc! And of course, you can't forget the Princess Castle Bounce House, piñata, and the game "Kiss the Frog" (same idea as Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but with HUGE lips and a frog). You get the idea. I had two of my favorite babysitters come and help me with all the "Parlor" stations, Elena, and my niece Cori!

I dressed Ashley in the same outfit for her 5th birthday party that Madison wore at her 5th birthday party. It's funny to see how they both look so much alike, but so different! :)

Here are most of the little "Princesses" that came to the party. Two little girls had to leave before I could snap a picture of the group!
Ashley wanted a Barbie cake! This was probably the ugliest one I have made to date, but it still tasted amazing!
The only boys invited to the party!
Ashley enjoying her bounce house.
Joe getting the piñata ready from the balcony.
Ashley getting ready to take a WHACK at it!
Ashley was in heaven having all her friends over and opening up all her treasures.

Birthdays and Christmas

The month of December is absolutely crazy around here. There are so many birthdays in my family to celebrate and Christmas to get ready for. But, it is so much fun and I love every minute of it. In fact, I really wish Christmas Day would actually never come around because the preparations, the decorating, the Christmas lights, the excitement on my girls' faces, etc, that leads up to Christmas is magical. I never want it to end!!!

This year for Madison's birthday (December 15th, seven years old) she chose to go to Disneyland. Well, that was easy on us parents since we have annual passes. We planned to go the Saturday before her birthday and it was POURING rain. We spent the day wearing ponchos, but it wasn't crowded. It was pretty awesome to walk on every ride. To make it extra special we got reservations at "Ariel's Grotto" and got to eat with all the princesses. It was so cute how all the Princesses stop by your table, chit chat with the girls and sign autographs. My girls were in complete shock!!!

Christmas was filled with tons of family, food, and fun! What better F's can you ask for! :)

We spent the morning at our home. I made an awesome breakfast with hot chocolate of course! My parents came over and opened their presents with us too and later ALL the family got together at my brother Steve's house. I love my family so much and I am so grateful for parents who have been so faithful in the gospel and been such an example to me and Joe. I thank my lucky stars everyday to be a part of such an awesome family and I hope my girls will look back on their childhood with such love and excitement as I do!

My parents with Tori! Tori sat on this toy and played with it the whole day!
This isn't the best picture of my girls, but I want to make sure I always capture my girls with their grandparents.

The girls were in the Christmas pageant that our Primary put on at our church!
Madison's birthday, December 15th. She turned the big SEVEN. It is hard for me to believe that she is seven years old already and will be baptized next year. Where has the time gone?

This was taken during the Princess dinner at Ariel's Grotto. Too many pictures were taken so I will spare you all and only post one of them with Princess Aurora!
Like I said before, it was pouring rain that day and we all wore ponchos. We still had tons of fun!