Bike-a-thon!

It was a cool Phoenix evening as we headed back to school for the bike-a-thon! It was a cute little event with games, popcorn, pizza, raffle, and bike riding! Everett was totally jazzed to ride at night and turned his helmet lights on. He cheered on his friends and then rode his heart out during his round. He was convinced that he "won" even though it was only a contest to see how many laps you could do. It was precious to see Everett interacting with his classmates. What a sweet boy he is! We are so proud of him!

A Holiday in San Diego!

One of the greatest things about living in Phoenix is how close we are to so many amazing places. It is so easy to pack up the car and enjoy a weekend in CA. We haven't been in a long while, so that is exactly what we did! It was the best vacation I have had in a long time. It is so much easier to travel now that the boys are older, and boy, did we have fun! I may have only lived there for 2 years, but I am definitely a California girl. I just feel relaxed when I am there. I love it so much! And San Diego is a great city. We saw so much more of the downtown this time and I really loved it. And of course, we went to Sea World! I just love that place! Since we had one in Ohio growing up, it always reminds me of my own childhood. And it's just a fun place. We were able to do everything this time and the boys were incredible the whole day.

Sweet Dreams, Sweet Boys

This was our first crib/pack & play-free vacation. Lionel was thrilled to sleep in a "big boy bed" at the hotel. We decided to spilt them up and Billy and I would each sleep with one of them. We laid in there until they were asleep and then headed into the living room part of the hotel. We were excited to unwind and glad that the boys were getting some sleep. When we went in to go to bed, we found Lionel had climbed onto Everett's bed and both of them were contorted and snoring. Man, were they out!

Surf's Up!

There's nothing better than a morning at the beach! Warm sun on your shoulders, the sounds of crashing waves, and the cool sand under your feet.....perfection! We had an awesome morning playing around.

Hey, Hay!

It's fall festival time! We started a bit early since it was fall break and Everett was off from school. It was a warm and sunny day and we did it all - bounce house, hay maze, petting farm, tractor ride, pumpkins. I neglected to take an allergy pill first, so the hay wasn't exactly my favorite part, but Everett loved the hay maze. He made it through, but on the way back, he got a little lazy. Lionel didn't really see the fun in all the dead ends and back-tracking. It was a super fun day and I was thrilled that this was the first year I had no stroller, didn't have to carry anyone, and the kids carried their own pumpkins!

"Hi Animals!"

Everett has always been my talker. He talks All. Day. Long. He tells me stories and dreams and what everyone at school had for lunch. His vocabulary is outstanding ("Look at Woody's magnificent trick!") and he is very descriptive. I love it 99% of the time (the other 1% being as soon as I open my eyes in the morning.) Lionel has never followed in his brother's loud footsteps, although he has taken it up a notch lately. No, Lionel's thing has always been - animals. The kid just loves them! His first word was doggy and that says a lot about him. He always notices the animals wherever we go and every animal (including the billboard with the Geico lizard) is "cute" to him. He went bananas at the petting farm! He grabbed hay and personally hand fed every animal. I usually am a bit grossed out by petting farm animals, but seeing the joy in Lionel's eyes made it worth it for me. Everett enjoyed it quite a bit, too, until he was butted by a goat!