The Girls on Halloween

Pictures from our CT Trip

Picking apples with Grandma and Grandpa, and Cousins having fun!

Catching Up!

Oh boy, has it been a while since our last post! The fall has not yet arrived here in Arizona with temperatures still in the 90s. Vicki and the girls were able to have a small taste of Autumn with a visit to Connecticut in mid-October. It was a great trip and we had lots of time with Kelly and the boys. We even got to go apple picking! For Halloween, Emily was a cowgirl and Gabrielle was a ballerina. Here are some pictures from our trip to CT, and a shot of the girls in their costumes.

Fishing

Greg and the girls took advantage of the unheard of 90-degree, August day to do some fishing in the backyard. The girls had lost interest (and I had put my camera in the house) by the time Greg caught a fish. It was a pretty big catfish, but now the dock is all slimy!

First Day of Preschool!

Gabrielle had her first day of preschool on Thursday. Here is a picture of her in her new classroom. She was so ready to start school because her big sister's school began a few weeks ago, and Gabrielle always wants to do what Emily does!

"Rocket Ship" pictures

Swimming

If you want to really give your kids a thrill, jump in the pool with your clothes on! After spending the morning doing yard work, Greg and I jumped in to cool off. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever! We had a fun time trying to dunk eachother, take Daddy's hat and then Gabrielle found the hose we had been using. She loved squirting us while we would dive to avoid the spray. Here's some pictures of Greg and the girls in the pool from a few weeks ago doing what we call "Rocket Ship!" Well, we are having technical diffilculties with the photos, so I will upload them separately later.

Rollerskating

Ah, the joys of summer in Arizona! Emily is teaching Gabrielle how to rollerskate....in the house. This has brought back memories of when I was teaching Bobby how to ice skate in a frozen mud puddle in the back yard. He wasn't that bad, actually! Anyway, Gabrielle was concerned when Emily told her she was going to let go of her hand and asked, "If I fall, will you catch me?" Emily replied with such concern in her voice, "Of course." They are so sweet together. And to think that just yesterday, Emily was creating a sign to keep her sister out of her room. Lucky for her, Gabrielle can't read!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday.....wish we could be together to celebrate! We miss you.....

The Theatre

We took the girls to a theatre in town on Saturday to see "The Little Mermaid." They both loved it! I am attaching a picture of them with the title character, Arabelle (this is the Hans Christian Andersen version, not the Disney version), so you can see their faces. That was the best part of the show....watching the expressions on Emily and Gabrielle's faces!

Cute Emily Stories

I just remembered this conversation from a few years ago that Emily and I had in the car one summer day:

Emily: Mommy, can you roll down the window?
Mommy: No sweetie, it's too hot outside.
Emily: When will it stop being too hot outside?
Mommy: Oh, around Halloween.
Emily: We're gonna be driving until Halloween!?!

Here is a recent conversation she had with Grandma during their visit in June:

Emily: Grandma, why do you tell Grandpa what to do?
Grandma: So I can keep him from doing silly things.
Emily: You mean, like being a Democrat?

That girl cracks me up sometimes!

It's official. I've taught all three girls pictured here how to ski. Vicki was my first student years ago and my most diffcult although Gabrielle whined way more. I'm not ready to quit my day job just yet.

This is a picture from our spring ski vacation to Wolf Creek in Colorado. Both girls learned how to ski from the top all the way to the bottom. Emily figured it out in one day, Gabrielle in two. Pretty impressive for 2 little girls who had never seen snow. It was great to ski as a family and we plan to do it next year.

Have you ever been in 4 states at the same time? Emily has. Here is a picture of her at the 4 corners monument where AZ, UT, CO & NM come together. It's the only place in the Country where you can do it. Being an engineer that knows some surveyors, I'll let you in on a little secret. The actual 4 corners point is not actually under the monument due to a survey error....oops.

Aren't they adorable?

New Blog

Well, I have never done this before....I wanted a way for my family far, far away to be able to keep up with our daily lives. It will also be a way for me to share photos with you all as I am terrible about that. Emily and Gabrielle are now 7 and 4 for those of you who haven't seen a new picture in three years! :)

Anyway, today is a simple day. The kids are currently watching a movie with some friends after they spent the better part of the afternoon destroying the house! Tonight should be fun.....I'll need to get the whip out to make sure the kids actually clean up all of the toys. I'll attach a recent picture of the girls so you can see how adorable they are!